


Pyro

by baeconandeggs, WhoYouNotMe



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Angst, M/M, Science Fiction, Smut, Star Wars - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 19:29:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18901156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoYouNotMe/pseuds/WhoYouNotMe
Summary: Growing up in hopes of becoming mighty Jedi Knights, Baekhyun and Chanyeol built dreams about making the Galaxy a better place. However, the Jedi Masters seemed to have forgotten to teach them a very important rule – having personal relationships is forbidden. The pair learns the reason for it the hard way and now only one question remains – can Baekhyun bring Chanyeol back to the light side?





	Pyro

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** BAE687  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.  
>   
> 
> **Author's Note:** Dear prompter and other lovely readers, I hope I have not failed you. Well, at least not too much. Don’t fear the explicit tag – it’s added due to an explicit smut scene, nothing too bad but just to be safe. Actually I’ve been through a lot of struggles recently and there were so many times I thought about giving up and dropping out… That’s why I want to thank my lovely beta who not only helped with ideas and all sorts of errors, but also motivated me to go through with this! You are amazing!!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

While the New Republic was trying to restore the once peaceful Galactic Republic destroyed by the Siths, there were still planets where democracy was facing a struggle. They were kind of like blind zones where no one respected or even cared about the Republic or the Empire anymore. The only thing on everyone’s mind was their own survival. Some had it lighter, some had it rougher.

Of course, Park Chanyeol just had to be lucky enough to fall into the latter category. While Corellia was the capital planet of the whole damn Corellian system and had actually been one of the Core Founders of the Galactic Republic, it didn’t mean that life after the Republic’s fall was easy. Everyone struggled to get by and the superb Imperial Moss of the Corellian sector tended to turn a blind eye to crime.

As a result, Corellia’s population divided into two major groups; those who worked for the Empire, and those who scraped by. How did they survive? Well, for instance, Chanyeol’s _lovely_ parents had sold him to some Selonian who had promised them a ship. Needless to say, the Selonian had lied and sold Chanyeol into slavery. He was just a kid but he learned to survive on his own. Having discovered just how good his hand agility was, the boy quickly turned to pickpocketing and stealing.

However, he wouldn’t be Park Chanyeol if his life turned out great after that. Heck, he didn’t even get to become a famous thief. He wouldn’t even get to live past six—or so he had thought when a strong arm wrapped around his as soon as he attempted to pickpocket a sort of weird-looking man. Bad idea.

“Hello there.” The man didn’t loosen up his hold no matter how hard Chanyeol pulled. “If I let you go, do you promise not to run?”

The little boy nodded frantically without actually registering what was asked. As soon as Chanyeol felt the hold loosen up, the boy dashed away through the crowd. Luckily, the streets were filled at noon so he knew there was no way he could be found. That didn’t mean that he would stop though. While his mind kept repeating that the man had been old and wouldn’t be able to catch up to him, a little voice was telling him to keep running. So Chanyeol did.

He made sure to run fast and took sharp turns every now and then just to lose anyone who might be chasing him. Chanyeol’s legs started to give out around eight blocks later and so the boy ran into a small alleyway. Gasping for breath, he pressed his back against the wall and tried to recall if the man had had any guards, but he knew well that he had checked beforehand.

_How on Earth did he catch me!?_ Chanyeol knew his touch was as light as a Porgs’ feather so how did the man know. 

Chanyeol had shut his eyes only for a bit but once he opened them again he was shocked to find the man standing in the entrance of the alley. Quickly throwing a glance towards the other end the boy saw another man dressed in similar clothes as the first one but he seemed much younger. _I didn’t take anything so what do they want!?_

The boy looked around and weighed his options before noticing a ladder going up not too far from the second man.

“We won’t hurt you. We just want to talk.”

_Yeah, right._ Chanyeol had already had enough talks in his mere six years of life to know how badly it could turn out for him. So the boy decided to take his chances and charged towards the second man, clearly surprising him. However, instead of letting himself be caught like the man had anticipated, Chanyeol suddenly caught onto the ladder and climbed as quickly as he could.

Once he reached the top, Chanyeol looked down hoping to see the two with their mouths open and giving up but it wasn’t in the cards. Both men were climbing behind him and were doing it as quickly as he had. So Chanyeol continued to run. It wasn’t his first time on the city’s roofs so Chanyeol didn’t even have to think twice before jumping from one to another. After about four jumps he looked back at the men, still on the first roof.

“Well?” the older man said to the younger one who didn’t seem to be pleased.

“Really, Master?”

Having received a nod in response, the younger one released a deep breath and began making the same jumps Chanyeol had made. Maybe they were a little less graceful but still on point and quick. Unwilling to let the other get too close, Chanyeol kept on running and jumping. It was harder to lose them here but he was sure he could find a way to do it.

Chanyeol could hear the man making jumps behind him and so the boy decided to try and pull off a little trick by taking another ladder instead of jumping. When he reached the bottom of the ladder, a strong hold landed on his shoulder.

“Can we stop this chase now?” It was the first man, the one he had tried to pickpocket.

“I-I didn’t take anything!” the boy didn’t know what to do.

“I know. But we were actually looking for you.”

_This is it, Chanyeol. This is how you meet your doom._ Tears started to flow down the child’s face and he was about to have a complete breakdown when he felt a warm hand wipe them away.

“It would be nice if you learned to listen, youngling. I’m Changmin, a Jedi Master, and the one who was chasing you is Minseok, my Padawan.”

“Jedi?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened at the mention of the word. Sure, he had heard all sorts of stories but he had never imagined meeting an actual Jedi, much less on the dump of a planet that was Corellia.

“Would you like to go to a quieter place and discuss everything over some warm chocolate?”

“Master, I doubt they sell that here.” The second man had finally caught up. Chanyeol had expected him to be angry at him, yet the man flashed a warm smile. “Your agility is something! I barely made some of those jumps.” The two were trying to be extremely nice but Chanyeol knew better.

“What do Jedi want from me?” The serious tone surprised both men but Changmin kept his warm tone. “Do you want me to be honest with you?” Chanyeol nodded.

“Well, after the fall of the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order was wiped out and we’re trying to restore it. Restoring it includes finding those who are Force sensitive.”

“I-I’m not-” The little boy seemed rather confused.

“Are you sure?”

That made Chanyeol thoughtful. “How do you know?”

“What you’ve demonstrated so far shows that there might be something special about you – almost succeeding in pickpocketing a Jedi and the speed and precision of your moves.”

“I-I didn’t know you were a Jedi.”

“It doesn’t matter if you knew or not. What matters is that you almost succeeded.” Chanyeol was confused if that was meant as a praise or not but he sure wasn’t going to ask.

“What’s your name?”

“C-Chanyeol.”

“Nice to meet you, Chanyeol. So what do you say – would you like to come with us to Tython to test your abilities?”

The offer sounded fishy to say the least. Sure, Chanyeol had wanted to leave Corellia ever since he learned how to dream but… leaving with two unknown men seemed like a bad idea.

“H-How do I know you’re really Jedi? How do I know you don’t want to just steal my organs or something?” The boy’s accusations made both men laugh.

“What is the most characteristic thing about Jedi that would prove that we are who we say we are?”

Chanyeol bit his lip in thought although he didn’t have to look far for answer.

“A lightsaber!”

The answer made Changmin laugh but the man obliged, finally releasing his hold on the boy’s shoulder and producing the weapon from his robe.

“Jedi aren’t really loved around here so I wouldn’t want to alert anyone by actually igniting it but… It’s a lightsaber alright.”

“What colour is it?” Chanyeol was clearly fascinated by the weapon.

“Green. Do you know what the colours mean?”

“No.”

“Red symbolizes evil and power, blue – justice and protection, and green – peace through force.”

“Peace through force?”

“Yeah. That means that I prefer peace but don’t mind engaging in combat if necessary. Actually, that’s only one of the differences among the three. You will learn the rest at the Temple. So what do you say, Chanyeol?”

The boy took some time to think but quite frankly the answer was pretty much a no-brainer. He had dreamt about leaving Corellia for all this time and there was really nothing holding him back. He might miss his friends at some point but they probably won’t even bother looking for him. He wasn’t needed here.

“Promise not to kill me?” The sudden question made Changmin laugh.

“Promise. Either you’ll pass the test and will be accepted for training or you’ll have a better life on Tython. Definitely much better than what you have here.”

“Ok. I’ll go.”

* * *

“Master, isn’t he too old to be trained?”

Changmin and Minseok were patiently waiting for Chanyeol’s results. The Jedi Order was testing the boy now and both Jedi seemed to be quite anxious as to what could be the outcome.

“We’re in need of fresh blood, my Padawan. We’re struggling to return to what we once were, so I doubt that age will determine the outcome.”

“What will?”

“Chanyeol’s connection to the Force.”

“He’s strong.”

The observation made Changmin smile.

“Judging by your inability to catch him?”

“No, by his movements and hunch. When we played Dejarik, I barely struggled to win.”

“Maybe you’re just bad at it?”

“No, Master. He seemed to know whatever move I was about to make next. I could only beat him by speed, not by strategies.”

Before the Master got to try to find an explanation, the door to the huge hall opened and a protocol droid beckoned the two to follow. As expected, Chanyeol was still standing in the middle of the brightly lit room with all the higher rank Jedi Masters looking him up and down thoughtfully. The two Jedi bowed to the rest of the Council and Changmin didn’t hesitate to place a protective hand on the little boy’s shoulder. As expected, Master Yunho, Head of the Council, was given the rights to the final decision which he didn’t hesitate to announce.

“Master Changmin. The boy has something special about him. However, we aren’t sure about how strong the Force is with him.” Yunho’s words—or more like his disbelief—hurt Changmin a bit.

“With all due respect, I believe we can find out during his training. The fact that he displays some sort of connection with the Force already shows potential. Who knows just how strong that potential might be?” Changmin was speaking with real passion but Yunho wasn’t convinced.

“Doesn’t that scare you, Master Changmin? It’s a bit like playing with fire, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The last time someone brought a child with noticeable connection with the Force before the Council-” Yunho didn’t even have to finish his sentence for Changmin to understand what was implied here.

“You’re not expecting another Darth Vader, are you, Master?” The blatant question earned Changmin shocked looks from the other Masters, while Yunho answered with a smile.

“I’ve always loved your outspokenness, but… Haven’t we learned from the past?”

“Again—with all due respect—I don’t think we’re at a place right now to turn down any Force sensitive being. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to keep the next Darth Vader under our guidance than leave him in the hands of fate?”

The other Masters seemed sceptical, almost laughing at Changmin’s persistence, but their expressions became serious again when Master Yunho finally gave his answer.

“Fine. Chanyeol will be trained. But not by you.”

“Thank you.”

With that the meeting came to a close and Minseok was given the task of helping Chanyeol get comfortable at his new home. Once everyone except for Changmin and Yunho had left the hall, Changmin dared to ask a question burning at his thoughts.

“You didn’t accept him because of me, did you?”

“Because of our involvement? No.”

Yunho knew someone might walk in at any time so he didn’t make any advances towards the other apart from allowing his voice to take a sweeter tone.

“There is something in him. I just hope we’ll know how to tame it.”

* * *

“Where are the other kids from?”

Minseok could sense worries in Chanyeol’s voice as they made their way towards the dormitory part of the temple.

“They are from all over the galaxy. Some came here when they were small and parents noticed there was something special about them. Others were found by Jedi Masters, just like Master Changmin found you.”

“I-I never thought about becoming a Jedi.”

“One rarely does. I’d say it’s a gift, if I can be honest with you. You get to learn a lot and see so many beautiful places.”

“But… Isn’t being a Jedi dangerous?”

“It can be. But sometimes danger equals fun.”

With a wink the Padawan opened the big door in front of them, revealing a huge hall filled with students close to Chanyeol’s age. The boy looked in awe as a group of younglings had gathered around a boy who had a helmet on. The helmet was obviously for blinding him as the boy tried to slash a floating droid with a fake lightsaber. The boy was clearly good at it, hitting each and every one of the targets no matter where the small droid moved.

Before Chanyeol knew it the droid was suddenly right above his head and without much hesitation the boy launched at him, making them both tumble to the floor. Chanyeol released a whimper while the boy just giggled. Having stood up and removed the helmet, Chanyeol was suddenly met with a bright smile from a small redhead.

“Sorry!”

“Baekhyun, how many times have we warned you not to get too into it?”

“Sorry, Padawan Minseok.”

Minseok was never fond of scolding the younglings as he still remembered how much fun he himself had had back in the day. Though that didn’t mean he didn’t have an image to keep up. Having helped Chanyeol to get back on his feet, the Padawan introduced the newcomer to the group.

“This is Park Chanyeol.”

“Nice to meet you, Yeollie. I’m Baekhyun but you can call me Baekhyunnie.”

Of course, the redhead was first in line to greet him. However, Minseok thought that it actually might be for the best—the friendliest kid of the bunch taking a newbie under his wing…

Oh, and take him under his wing he did.

While Chanyeol may have felt kind of uncomfortable among the others who had known each other for a while already, Baekhyun made sure to involve him in everything they did and helped him out whenever Chanyeol was struggling with something. It seemed like Chanyeol had a particular talent in everything physical, like combat and agility. However, meditation certainly wasn’t his favourite subject.

“Ok, today’s question—what will you do when you become a Jedi?”

Since Chanyeol was struggling so hard to sit still, a couple of weeks in Baekhyun had come up with a plan—every day he would ask the other a question so Chanyeol had something to think about while they were supposed to meditate. Later, the two would sneak away from their sleeping peers to stargaze and discuss the question.

“So, what will you do?” While Baekhyun retained his cheery character, somehow the simple question had touched something deep for Chanyeol.

“I… I would make it so that there is no slavery.” Chanyeol kept his gaze on the stars, not noticing the sudden drop in Baekhyun’s smile at the mention of the word.

“Slavery? Were you…?”

“Yeah. My parents sold me when I was about three, I think?”

“Damn, I knew that Corellia was bad but that parents would do something like that...”

“They wanted a way out. But karma got to them. Last thing I heard was that they were trying to steal from some high-ranking officer and got caught. You can figure out what happened after that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not. They did that to me, so… Anyway, what’s your answer?”

“Actually, the same.”

This immediately caught Chanyeol’s attention, the boy’s focus shifting from the shiny dots to Baekhyun.

“Why?”

“Well… As I mentioned before, I’m from Cantonica. And… While it wasn’t as bad as your case, it’s still pretty rough there.” Baekhyun was fidgeting with his fingers, avoiding eye contact.

“If you don’t want to tell me, it’s ok.”

“No, it’s not that. Actually… I think you’re the only person I do want to tell. Most of the others here come from good families who brought them here. I guess that’s what makes us different and helps us understand each other.”

Chanyeol took hold of Baekhyun’s hand to reassure the other. He had given up hope on hearing the full story, considering how his friend had trailed off, but suddenly Baekhyun started to talk again.

“Cantonica is famous because of the rich and glamorous Canto Casino and crazy rich people blowing their money on fathier races at the Racetrack but… Only a few really think about what goes on behind the scenes.” With that Baekhyun lightly squeezed Chanyeol’s hand to sort of reassure himself.

“I used to work at the fathier stables and… The things they do to those poor animals. The beating, the electro-shocking. It was a lot. Oh, and by ‘work’ I don’t mean a job with pay. We were working for food and basically slept in stables. Again, I know you had it worse-”

“It’s not about who had it worse, Baek. It just shows how much evil there is in this galaxy. It can be in different shapes and forms and I doubt you can really know which one is worse.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” A small smile appeared on Baekhyun’s lips but clearly far from his usual bright grin so Chanyeol tried to switch up the mood.

“So that’s what we’ll do! We’ll fight against evil! So no child or animal gets hurt ever again!” the dramatic voice Chanyeol was doing made Baekhyun smile through the tears that had appeared in his eyes.

“Promise?”

“Promise!” while Chanyeol’s answer sounded confident, Baekhyun needed something more certain and so the boy extended his pinkie finger.

“Pinkie promise?” Baekhyun looked so cute while doing it that, of course, Chanyeol had no other choice but to accept. He did mean his promise though.

“Pinkie promise.”

* * *

By the time the two had reached their teens, they had become best friends and everyone knew that together Chanyeol and Baekhyun were a force to be reckoned with. However, the couple themselves had failed to notice a small flaw—despite his already decade long training, Chanyeol somehow still failed in finding his inner balance. Baekhyun’s random questions might’ve helped him before but now it seemed like Chanyeol was losing it, especially in combat training.

The day the younglings had received real lightsabers instead of the toys was probably the happiest so far. The weather was spoiling them too, making the day perfect for some outdoor practice. However, once Chanyeol got to a training dummy and Master Minwoo told him to show what he’s got, the younger one went off not only on one but on every dummy in his sight. He didn’t seem to hear the Master’s calls or the frightened screams of fellow trainees whenever they had to scatter to get out of his way. Chanyeol felt the force rush through and within him. It was mind-blowing to think about a badass move and then be able to actually perform it.

“Chanyeol!”

The black-haired teen kept dashing around, cutting and slicing, the lightsaber’s buzz ringing in his ears.

“Chanyeol!”

It was overwhelming and empowering at the same time.

“YAH, PARK CHANYEOL!”

Suddenly the addicting buzz was interrupted by Baekhyun’s voice, stopping Chanyeol on the spot. He stared at the lightsaber in his hand, gasping for air from the intense fight. Then he looked up and the sight dumbfounded him. The dummies weren’t just cut down—they were practically chopped up with no chances of ever being repaired.

“Well, I see someone likes the new toy.” Master Minwoo tried to hide his worries behind a kind smile. “However, you can’t go on a frenzy like that. It’s almost as if you forgot everything me and the other Masters have taught you the minute the handle touched your hand.”

Chanyeol looked at the lightsaber in his hand again. He knew Master Minwoo was right but… Nothing of what he had done just now felt wrong to him. He had demonstrated just what the Master had asked for—he had showed him and everyone around them what he’s got.

“Okay, that’s it for today then, guys. I have to somehow explain to Master Yunho why we need ten new training dummies.” Just as Minwoo was about to walk away, Baekhyun started to wonder.

“Master? Aren’t the dummies droids? I’ve seen other students go at them and they just ‘fix’ themselves, no?” Baekhyun’s naïve questions actually made Master Minwoo smile.

“Good observation, Baekhyun. However, for the droids to ‘fix’ themselves they have to have their central processors in place and well… They clearly aren’t.”

Everyone including Chanyeol looked at the damage again and indeed it was clear that none of the droids ever had a chance.

“Normally students chop off a leg or a hand. In some braver cases, the head. This… This is kind of new but… I guess it also shows what we have to prepare for, right?”

Master Minwoo flashed students a slightly nervous smile before turning around and practically running inside the Temple. The students looked at each other in surprise. Usually Masters would tell them where to go and what to do, yet now they were left completely alone. Willing to ease up the mood, Baekhyun decided to take the initiative.

“Lunch break!”

With that all the students scattered inside. Everyone except Chanyeol and Baekhyun. As soon as the last youngling from their group closed the door behind him, Baekhyun approached the still gasping black-haired teen.

“Hey, are you ok?”

“Y-yeah. Baek, this is so powerful.”

“Oh, we could tell.”

The redhead’s tone finally got Chanyeol to look up from the lightsaber still in his hand. Surprisingly, Master Minwoo hadn’t even tried to disarm him, probably thinking that only Baekhyun could actually do it without losing a limb.

If anything, Chanyeol had expected Baekhyun to be as excited as he was but instead the other’s eyes were starting to tear up.

“Baek? Is everything alright?”

Baekhyun took a deep breath but he couldn’t hold it in any longer and so his voice broke into crying.

“You scared me, Yeol.”

With that Chanyeol finally turned off the weapon and threw it somewhere to the side. For most Jedi, their lightsaber would mean everything but for Chanyeol – it was Baekhyun. With quick steps Chanyeol made his way over to the slightly shorter one and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun returned the hug, hiding his face against Chanyeol’s chest. They had practically grown up together and somehow no one ever questioned their public displays of affection. Of course, no other students were ever seen just randomly hugging it out in the middle of the yard or a hall but somehow for Chanyeol and Baekhyun it was normal.

“You didn’t even listen to Master Minwoo.”

“When?”

“While you were butchering those dummy droids. He called out for you to stop.”

“Oh… I guess I was so into the moment that it slipped my ears.”

Baekhyun’s embrace around Chanyeol tightened.

“Why did you get so crazy?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Did you picture someone in particular? That maybe you got to meet the one who bought you?”

“No, I just- The Force was so strong and it kind of took over me. It was awesome! I could feel it through my veins and with every cell.”

Baekhyun pulled away only to look Chanyeol up and down with an unconvinced and worried stare.

“Baek, I’m fine. Really. I stopped as soon as I heard your voice, right?”

“But what if you get like that again and I’m not around?”

“Nonsense! You’ll always be around! We made a pinkie promise to never part, remember?”

“Chanyeol, we’re close to becoming Padawans.”

“So?”

“Padawans are meant to be one-on-one with the Jedi Knight or Master they’re apprenticed to. There has been no case ever when someone would take up two Padawans.”

“Then we will be the first ones to do so!”

The announcement made Baekhyun laugh through the tears but little did he know that Chanyeol was actually right. The years of training and learning practically flew by and since both teens had shown exceptionally great skills, both were summoned to the Great Hall of the Temple to meet the Order. In Chanyeol’s opinion, the wait behind the big door was quite long and annoying, causing too much stress for Baekhyun.

“Baek, I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

“Right. What great skills have we shown exactly? Why would they want us here for it?”

“You’re good with mind tricks and I’m good with combat. Maybe that’s enough to earn a medal or something.”

“A medal? Why-”

Baekhyun didn’t get to end his snarky remark as the doors opened and the good old protocol droid invited them in. As they were walking down the long hall, Chanyeol was thinking about reaching out and holding Baekhyun’s hand but the growing voices of Jedi Masters warned him not to. It sounded like the Masters were angry enough already so pissing them off even more shouldn’t be part of his to do list. Next thing he knew Master Yunho’s voice resonated loud and clear against the walls.

“IT IS MY DECISION. We can’t turn him away now and if that means we have to-”

“Master Yunho, the younglings are here.”

The protocol droid’s dry voice effectively stopped Yunho’s shouting as the two newcomers got his undivided attention. As they stood in front of the Order, Chanyeol couldn’t help but notice the unfriendly stares directed at him from various corners of the room.

“Ahhh, Chanyeol and Baekhyun! Welcome!” Suddenly all anger from Master Yunho’s voice seemed to have disappeared as he was addressing the two younglings with a much softer voice.

“You must be surprised as to why you were summoned here, huh?”

Both teens could offer only shy nods.

“Well, the time for you two to be assigned to Masters as Padawans is closing in.” Instinctively, Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hand.

“The special bond you two share hasn’t gone by unnoticed by us.”

Master Yunho eyed the couple as they intertwined their fingers. Both boys saw it, as well as noticed how different the reactions of other Masters and Yunho were. The speaker still seemed warm, while others – unreadable, maybe slightly cold.

“We know you’re close and probably wouldn’t want to be apart for the next part of your training. Or am I wrong?”

Before Baekhyun could come up with a white lie, Chanyeol blurted out a resounding no.

“We’ve been through thick and thin together!”

Master Yunho tried to calm the youngling with a knowing smile on his lips.

“Everything is alright, Chanyeol. We don’t want to hurt either of you. So… You would like to continue the training together?”

“Yes!”

Only Master Changmin seemed to observe how quiet Baekhyun seemed.

“What about you? Do you agree with Chanyeol?”

A moment of silence followed which almost made Chanyeol’s heart sink before Baekhyun squeezed his hand more tightly.

“Yes! I agree that we should continue as a team. But…”

“But…?”

“Isn’t that against the rules?”

Changmin didn’t mind as Yunho took over again.

“That’s why we’ve called you here. We wanted to hear your thoughts on the subject and they seem to match mine. You are like day and night – in perfect balance! We intend to keep it that way.”

Both boys started to see a ray of hope, which Yunho gladly fulfilled.

“Therefore, the Council has decided to make an exception and allow you two to have your training together with one master – Master Changmin.”

With that Chanyeol and Baekhyun shifted their gazes towards the said Master who answered with an equally bright smile.

“You won’t cause too much trouble, right?”

Strings of promises started to fall from the younglings’ mouths, promising Changmin to behave and work hard to become skilled Jedi Knights he could be proud of. As Changmin flashed a warm smile to Yunho, the latter decided to finish the meeting.

“Then it’s settled. You will start your training with Master Changmin on Monday. For now, just think about what you want to achieve and how you will do it. Think about balance and how you can achieve it.”

“Yes, Master!”

“You’re free to go now.”

With that both teens practically ran out of the room to celebrate their joy out of the Council’s sight. The other Masters decided to leave as well, still feeling slightly offended about Yunho going against traditions and letting him know about it with glares. Yunho didn’t mind though. He just watched everyone head out the door until only Changmin was left.

“Do you really think it was a good idea?”

“Changmin, are you doubting your skills? Do you think you won’t be able to handle them?”

“It won’t be easy but that’s not what I was asking. Seems like this decision just earned you a loss in the next Council elections.”

“They can’t keep me out of the Council even if they assign a different Chair. Besides, I wouldn’t mind stepping down. It’s something I’ve actually thought about.”

“What?”

Changmin’s confusion only made Yunho chuckle as he approached the other and even dared to wrap a hand around Changmin’s waist to pull him closer.

“I’m not getting any younger so I’m starting to think about settling down.”

“Settling down?”

“Well, not exactly getting a family but… Just spending more time with the one I love would be nice.”

Now confusion on Changmin’s face was replaced by a soft grin.

“And you plan on doing that by assigning the one you love to teach not one but two apprentices?”

“Well, it’s not my fault that you couldn’t choose which one to train between the two. Besides, they are quick learners and since they are together, they’ll need less of you. Plus, while you train them, I can use the time to find us a place and get it ready for a nice retirement.”

“As if Jedi ever retire…”

“Haven’t you noticed? I like breaking the rules.”

With that Yunho captured Changmin’s lips in a quick kiss.

* * *

Yunho’s guesses turned out to be right and Baekhyun and Chanyeol proved themselves to be quick learners, as they seemed to practically suck up every ounce of knowledge Changmin had to offer. That’s how they ended up being some of the youngest apprentices to be sent not only to boring political meetings but also to much further and more dangerous places where their guidance was needed.

Ironically, Corellia was one of them. Both Changmin and Baekhyun were aware of how sensitive Chanyeol might become despite the Padawan’s claims to be alright. They were sent to Corelia to tackle an issue that hit very close to his home—forced labour of abandoned children.

As they walked into one of the countless warehouses suspected of child slavery, Baekhyun could see Chanyeol tense up. Of course, Baekhyun still remembered the other’s stories of how he survived on the forsaken planet but the sight was indeed dreadful. The place was filthy and filled with old droids that the kids were taking apart for parts. The whole process was carefully observed by angry-looking Dathomirians who didn’t hesitate to yell at the poor kids.

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol once more and noticed how the other had tightened his hand into a fist. Afraid that he might do something a bit drastic, Baekhyun decided this was one of the times to break their unwritten rule of no public displays of affection and took the tight fist into his warm hand. Chanyeol immediately looked at Baekhyun but didn’t say anything, only opened his palm to fit the smaller hand into his.

They suddenly came to a halt as one of the Dathomirians stepped into Changmin’s way.

“What do you want?”

“We’re here to talk to Tryki.”

“Why would she talk to you?”

Without much thinking Changmin slightly waved a hand. “You will take us to her.”

“I will take you to her.”

With that the Dathomirian turned and started to walk towards a metal door. At least the little trick made both Chanyeol and Baekhyun smile. Such mind tricks were one of their favourite and most enviable Jedi skills.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

As soon as they stepped through the metal door, they found themselves in what seemed to be a criminal meeting and Tryki certainly didn’t seem happy about the disturbance. Even moreso when she noticed Changmin.

“Jedi!”

That was all it took for everyone around the table to pull out their blasters, and the small room was suddenly filled with colourful blaster bolts. Not even a second passed before three Jedi lightsabers joined the party and yet again Changmin demonstrated an amazing peace as he started to deflect the bolts aimed at him. Baekhyun and Chanyeol followed, covering not only themselves but also each other and making an eye contact whenever one saved the other’s skin.

They were supposed to have peaceful talks about how bad child slavery is, yet they ended up being involved in a conflict of such a scale that the warehouse became pretty unusable. As some of the criminals pushed the Jedi out of the smaller room, Chanyeol and Baekhyun took it as their duty to warn the kids and get them out. Of course, the Dathomirians weren’t too happy about it but Chanyeol didn’t mind plunging his lightsaber into them to convince them.

While Chanyeol took care of the guards, Baekhyun made sure that every child made it out of the building safely. When the last kid was out, Baekhyun found Chanyeol encircled by guards, but with a quick swirl of blue the guards were on the ground. Sometimes Chanyeol’s skills scared Baekhyun but now wasn’t the time for it.

Both made eye contact and exchanged smiles before charging forward side by side to help their Master. The criminals were dropping like flies. Of course, Jedi would never attack first but whenever one of the criminals tried to hurt them, the person would soon meet their end from a lightsaber cut.

For reasons unknown to Chanyeol, in most cases their opponents decided to gang up on Baekhyun. Maybe it was because he was the smallest in build or maybe he just didn’t seem scary enough. Chanyeol didn’t know but the fact made him even angrier. Seeing two criminals trying to attack Baekhyun at the same time, Chanyeol didn’t hesitate to jump in, pressing his back against Baekhyun’s as both of them sunk their lightsabers into the attackers.

“Yah, Yoda! I almost caught your hand!”

“I don’t mind.”

Suddenly they noticed that no one was charging at them anymore and as their gaze fell on Changmin, they saw their Master take down the last of the group.

“Why do they always choose to fight instead of peaceful talks?”

Chanyeol was quick to offer an answer.

“No one thinks highly of Jedi these days.”

“Do you think everyone favours Siths above Jedi?”

“I think they favour those who aren’t Force sensitive.”

“Well, someone needs to keep things in check and balanced. I think it should be done by those who don’t use their power to enslave others, don’t you?”

“Of course, I agree! But… It’s hard to achieve a goal when everyone thinks you’re too soft for it.”

“Good things come to those who wait, Chanyeol. To those who wait…”

With that Changmin started to make his way towards the exit and the two Padawans had no choice but to follow. As the trio left the warehouse, they failed to notice two hooded persons standing on the roof of the opposite building with their eyes trained on the Jedi.

“Who are the apprentices?”

“The small one is Byun Baekhyun and the taller one is Park Chanyeol.”

“Park seems skilled. There’s some untamed energy within him. And he seems protective over the small kid. I want to know more.”

“I’ll see what I can do, my Lord.”

With that the Sith Lord and his subordinate left the area.

* * *

As soon as they get back to the ship, Chanyeol jumped into the shower. He wanted to get the sweat from the fight and the overall dirtiness of the warehouse off of his skin. Although he wasn’t sure if it was just the dust he had brought back with him or something more. Something deeper. Something from his childhood.

The water hit his skin and Chanyeol closed his eyes as moments from his childhood flashed through his mind. The beatings, the chases, the hunger… No child should face that. He could feel his anger becoming stronger and stronger until a soft hand made its way over Chanyeol’s back.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“I’m fine.”

Swallowing his feelings, Chanyeol turned around to face Baekhyun, allowing the smaller man to wrap his hands around Chanyeol’s neck.

“Just… Some unpleasant memories.”

Baekhyun decided not to push it any further and pulled Chanyeol down for a kiss, which soon became heated as Chanyeol pushed him against the wall and started to attack Baekhyun’s neck with soft kisses. He wasn’t allowed to leave any marks though.

This was their little secret that had started some years ago. Yes, they had started off as inseparable friends, but somewhere along the way hormones and puberty had kicked in and made things a bit more interesting for the two.

The first kiss had happened right in the middle of a fight, as the two nineteen-year-olds were running around a huge cruise ship, trying to fend off pirates who had stolen humanitarian supplies. The pirates turned out to be quite skilled, so the fight definitely tested their abilities to sneak around and hide as well. At one point they were close to being discovered, Chanyeol pulling Baekhyun into a small compartment just before the pirate squad noticed them.

The compartment was quite dark, with only the pirates’ steps resonating through the small space. The door did have some small openings so Baekhyun immediately noticed how Chanyeol was eyeing his lips. Yet nothing followed. The steps kept marching behind the door seemingly matching the rate at which Baekhyun’s heart was beating. Then his curiosity got the best of him and the redhead tiptoed to place a gentle kiss on the taller one’s lips.

That earned Baekhyun a confused stare before Chanyeol started to eagerly respond, moving his lips against Baekhyun’s and pulling the smaller one closer. It felt so surprisingly right and good that both found it difficult to part. Until they heard their Master call out for them.

It turned out to be only the first of their many kisses which soon grew into lingering touches and cuddling. The connection seemed more intimate than sexual though, at least for Baekhyun. The comfort Chanyeol’s touches offered was setting his skin on fire and in the beginning it was enough. Until his body craved for more.

Just a year ago the now twenty-two-year-olds had taken it a bit further by letting their hands wander but it wasn’t enough so Baekhyun suggested showering together. Chanyeol seemed rather cautious… until he saw Baekhyun naked, that is. The smaller one was perfect in every sense of the word and definitely everything he could ever ask for.

From then on things took a very quick pace and throughout the year the couple certainly learned everything about each other’s bodies, to say the least. Yet they hadn’t taken it to the final stage – actual intercourse. It was something Baekhyun craved but feared at the same time and Chanyeol was always making sure Baekhyun knew he wouldn’t pressure him into it.

But the thing was that… Baekhyun wanted it too. Today had proved that they could never know what fate had in store for them. Any day could be their last, as everyone they meet might have a blaster ready to take their lives. He didn’t want to die without having tasted life. No, he wanted to know all colours of it.

“Chanyeol.”

“Mmm?”

“Do you think it would be safe for you to sneak into my room tonight?”

Baekhyun thought it was ridiculous that their Master had no problem with them showering together (because “Conserving the water is important!”), yet they weren’t allowed to stay in one room onboard.

“Sure. Someone needs cuddles?”

“More than that.”

“Something naughtier? I’m always here for you to help with that.”

“I… I want to go all the way.”

That certainly caught the taller one’s attention as Chanyeol finally pulled away from Baekhyun’s collarbones.

“You mean?”

“Let’s have sex.”

“What—are you sure?”

“Yes. I want you, Chanyeol.”

The warmth and sincerity in Baekhyun’s eyes convinced Chanyeol as he captured the smaller one’s lips in another kiss. Everything they would need for it suddenly rushed through Chanyeol’s mind.

“We need lube though. Lots of it.”

“Already got it covered.”

“What? Since when?”

“I’ve been carrying some in my baggage for a while now.”

“A while?”

“Well, maybe four months?”

“So you’ve really thought about it, huh?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m sure about my choice.”

Baekhyun’s confidence made Chanyeol smile. Of course, he had dreamed of going all the way with Baekhyun but he had tried to keep his hopes low. Yet now it seemed like it could actually happen. Maybe.

“Ok. Let’s shower first though.”

* * *

As dusty sunlight made its way through the window, the sudden brightness awoke Baekhyun who had been resting against Chanyeol’s chest. Thoughts about what had happened last night filled his mind, making Baekhyun blush and smile. It had been perfect. Sure, the annoyingly long preparation seemed to last forever but he knew Chanyeol had only his safety in mind as he kept torturing Baekhyun by slowly adding one finger after another.

The thorough preparation, the way Chanyeol’s gaze never left his, the way the other made sure Baekhyun was feeling comfortable at all times made Baekhyun’s heart feel quite giddy. Little did he know that the pampering would continue after waking up as well. Baekhyun had tried to slowly lean back to get a good look at the sleeping form next to him when Chanyeol’s lips formed the widest grin ever. With one quick motion Chanyeol was on top of Baekhyun, placing a gentle morning kiss on his lips.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning indeed.”

“How are you feeling? Sore?”

“Not sure yet.”

With that Baekhyun tried to switch their positions but winced as soon as he tried to make a turn, falling back on his back right after. The little grunt made Chanyeol alert.

“Are you in pain? Where? Lower back?”

“Yeah. Not exactly in pain but… Just feels like I had a dick in my ass the whole night.”

Baekhyun hoped the line would make the other laugh as much as him but Chanyeol still seemed rather concerned.

“Roll on your tummy while I get some pain killers.”

“There’s no need to-”

“It’s an order, not a suggestion.”

After flashing a wink, Chanyeol got up from the bed and made his way to his clothes that were lying on the floor. The other’s nakedness made Baekhyun blush again, as vivid memories of him panting underneath Chanyeol filled his brain. Now Baekhyun didn’t hesitate to roll on his stomach and hide his face in the pillows as Chanyeol kept talking.

“Good thing I decided to prepare too and got these before coming here. One pill should do but maybe you should take two—hey, why are you hiding that beautiful smile?”

Baekhyun felt the bed next to him dip from Chanyeol’s weight again and a soft hand caressing his cheek, beckoning him to look at the speaker. With a bit on his lip Baekhyun finally looked at Chanyeol again, definitely amusing the taller one.

“Baek, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Baek?”

“I just… Can’t believe we really did it.”

The sudden announcement made Chanyeol blush too.

“Yeah. I hope you don’t regret it?”

“Not one bit.”

“So… Could we do it again some time?”

“Hmm, depends on how you’ll take care of me after.”

“Then I’d better get to it.”

With that Chanyeol handed Baekhyun the painkillers and the glass of water from the nearby table before busying himself with massaging Baekhyun’s lower back.

“Ok, there’s a 70 percent chance of us repeating that.”

“Only 70 percent??”

“I’ll need some snuggling for the last 30 percent.”

Baekhyun’s cheekiness only widened Chanyeol’s smile.

“Of course.”

* * *

The new level of their friendship soon had Chanyeol wondering where exactly were they going. He and Baekhyun had never discussed anything regarding relationship statuses or even being in a relationship, as it was frowned upon, but after their first night together Chanyeol couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe there was a chance for them. One thing was for sure though – after that night Chanyeol got even more overprotective of Baekhyun. So much so that even their Master noticed.

“Is there something I should know, Baekhyun?”

Changmin had used an opportunity to send Chanyeol after some parts for the ship, saying that Baekhyun didn’t need to go with him and should help with other jobs instead. The pair seemed dumbfounded at first but obeyed and now Baekhyun understood why they were separated. Of course, he chose to feign ignorance.

“What do you mean, Master?”

“You know what I mean. You and Chanyeol. Is there something I need to know?”

“No, Master. We’re just friends.”

“Well, it has long been clear that you’re more than that.”

“Okay, best friends!”

The Master knew he wouldn’t get anything from the young Padawan so he decided to give some advice instead.

“Baekhyun, I know how much it means to you to become a Jedi. But there are rules. Some can be bent according to the situation, but others can’t. I’m afraid you’re getting closer to one that can’t be changed.”

“What rule?”

“No personal relationships.”

“But… Doesn’t friendship qualify as personal relationship?”

“Kind of, but if something happens to a friend, you can still accept it. However, once love gets involved, people tend to do stupid things.”

“So… Jedi aren’t allowed to love?”

“We are allowed to love as long as it doesn’t compromise us. It’s hard to say no to life’s joys and pleasures. But make sure it doesn’t affect your ability to think straight, to fight for what is good.”

“And what if someone does fall in love?”

“Then they most likely will be banned from the Jedi community, because love puts everyone in danger, not just the ones involved. There’s the risk of someone becoming a betrayer to save the one they love. We can’t afford that.”

A moment of silence set in before Baekhyun picked up a package that was meant to be put away in the storage compartment of the ship.

“I understand, Master. Don’t worry. There are no personal relationships involved.”

“Good.”

With that Baekhyun walked away.

_It’s just sex… Right? Yeah, it’s just sex!_

Baekhyun tried to remember how he had gotten here in the first place. How Changmin had found him on Cantonica, shared Baekhyun’s worries about fathiers and even set some free. That’s how he had gained Baekhyun’s trust. As the little boy watched the animals run free, Baekhyun decided he wanted to become a Jedi too. He wanted to help others the same way Jedi had helped him. Just like he and Chanyeol had discussed all those years ago. Nothing could stand between him and the dream of becoming a true Jedi Knight.

* * *

Still, Chanyeol and Baekhyun ended up having sex more and more often. After all the injustices they got to see when travelling with Changmin, it was the perfect way to empty their minds and give in to emotions. However, even Baekhyun had to admit that they were getting ridiculously brave, if not actually stupid.

Like now, the two of them doing it right in the middle of the day in the storage block with the risk of Changmin or a droid popping up at any moment. But they were young and dumb and so Baekhyun didn’t even say a word when he felt Chanyeol’s arms encircling him and undoing his pants before slipping them down. Baekhyun only tried to find somewhere to hold on to as he felt Chanyeol spread his buttcheeks and a very lubed up tip nudging at his hole before slowly entering him.

It felt just right as Baekhyun allowed Chanyeol to use him in any way the taller one pleased, as Chanyeol made sure to pleasure him to no end. It felt good to be so full, but Baekhyun knew they didn’t have much time. If they wanted to keep being young and dumb, they needed to hurry up before anyone noticed.

“Yeol.”

That was enough of a signal to Chanyeol who pressed Baekhyun closer, entering him even deeper and reaching around to take hold of Baekhyun’s leaking cock. Chanyeol’s thrusts became sharp, hitting Baekhyun’s prostate dead on every time he re-entered Baekhyun. The storage block was filled with their pants, the rustling of clothes and all the lube making lewd noises every time Chanyeol pulled out or pushed back in.

“So full, Yeollie.”

By Baekhyun’s voice Chanyeol could tell the other was close.

“Where should I finish, beautiful?”

The raspy voice almost pushed Baekhyun over the edge.

“Fuck, inside me. Come inside me.”

Baekhyun sounded so needy and the fact that Chanyeol was the one who turned him into this panting mess only added to Chanyeol’s arousal.

“Fuck, I’m coming.”

The raspy voice right next to Baekhyun’s ear kept repeating the phrase right as Baekhyun was so desperately pushing back onto Chanyeol’s cock. The rhythm to which the two bodies kept rocking against each other started to become messy and faltered completely once their visions went white and both came in blissful and barely contained moans.

Soon after Baekhyun almost went limp against Chanyeol, worrying the taller one.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just. That was powerful.”

Baekhyun flashed a wide grin and Chanyeol couldn’t hold himself back from kissing Baekhyun’s bitten lips.

“Perfect.”

“Yeah.”

Of course, the mess they had made was a lot bigger than what they had initially planned but the pair didn’t mind. Or more like Chanyeol didn’t mind because he refused to allow Baekhyun to clean anything. So the smaller one just watched Chanyeol clean everything off, including Baekhyun’s clothes, with a warm smile on his face.

Once the storage block was deemed clean, the pair decided to go out and grab a quick lunch. Of course, Chanyeol insisted that Baekhyun should stay behind and that he would bring the smaller one anything his heart desired but Baekhyun refused, claiming that walking the pain out helped. So Chanyeol and Baekhyun took slow steps towards the exit of the ship.

Their trip was cut short though. The pair had stepped a few steps outside the ship when a sudden blaster bolt hit Baekhyun’s stomach.

“What the fuck?”

Baekhyun fell to the ground and Chanyeol rushed to his side, at the same time trying to understand where the source of the attack was. Then he noticed another blaster bolt heading their way which Chanyeol skillfully deflected with his lightsaber. Having heard Baekhyun’s scream, Changmin soon emerged from the ship as well, trying to assess the situation. As Chanyeol’s gaze kept going back and forth between Baekhyun, Changmin, and the attacker, Changmin gave a quick nod for Chanyeol to move. That was all the taller one needed to start running towards the source of the bolts, while Changmin kept deflecting those aimed at them.

The trajectory of the bolts made it clear that the attacker was on the roof of the building right opposite of the ship’s hangar, so that’s where Chanyeol headed to, running as fast as he possibly could. He made it up the stairs in no time, jumping over three and sometimes even four steps like it was nothing for his long legs. He continued to run, silently thanking nature for his stamina.

As Chanyeol busted through the door to the roof, unsurprisingly a hooded figure was waiting for him. The blaster had been left lying on the floor and the figure was just staring at Chanyeol. However, he sure didn’t expect to see a flash of red when he decided to attack. Suddenly his blue lightsaber was fighting against a bright red one.

“A Sith?”

“What a smart Jedi.”

The voice was clearly mocking him and so Chanyeol went off on the silhouette. The unknown one easily defended against Chanyeol’s every move, showing off years of professional training. Chanyeol kept attacking and attacking but nothing worked. As the young Jedi Apprentice started to show some signs of exhaustion, the Sith only laughed.

“Not yet strong enough, but the potential is certainly there.”

“Who sent you and why?”

“The Sith Order. They wanted me to spy on you.”

The honesty left Chanyeol dumbfounded and the Apprentice barely managed to hide it. At least he hoped he had.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Heechul, Darth Ramage’s Apprentice.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“So you know who to blame for your precious friend’s death.”

“He’s not dead.”

“Oh, he will be.”

With that Heechul’s lips formed a nasty grin, as the silhouette standing before Chanyeol disappeared.

“Wait, what? A Force phantom?”

Just as the final word had left Chanyeol’s mouth, a spaceship closed in with its docking area wide open. Standing there in the wide doorway was the Sith Apprentice Chanyeol had fought just minutes ago. Putting on that nasty grin once again, Heechul waved a goodbye before the dock closed and the spaceship jumped to lightspeed. Chanyeol tried to understand what had just happened when he heard a painful scream from the street below him. Remembering Baekhyun’s condition, Chanyeol jumped the stairs twice as quickly as going up and soon he was back by Baekhyun’s side.

“How bad is it?”

Chanyeol found Changmin desperately trying to use the Force to heal Baekhyun’s wound, something only a true Jedi Master could do. However, it didn’t seem to be working.

“Very bad. It was no ordinary blaster. The wound is a lot deeper than it should be. Who was it anyway?”

“A Sith Apprentice.”

The mention immediately got Changmin’s attention.

“A Sith? Are you sure?”

“Definitely.”

Changmin knew right away that the Council wouldn't be pleased. Worst case scenario, they probably will blame Yunho for breaking the rules and giving him two Padawans.

“We need to get home. Now.”

“On it.”

Changmin struggled to bring Baekhyun to the ship as Chanyeol rushed past them to get the ship going. Home wasn’t far—just a lightspeed jump away—but he needed to act quickly to save Baekhyun. He had never thought that everything could change so quickly. One moment they were blissful after having sex, and the next Baekhyun was on the floor in a pool of blood.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Chanyeol tried to flip the switches as fast as he could, while also trying to pay attention to the stats. While getting Baekhyun home was the priority, he also had to make sure that it was done safely. Miscalculate by a few degrees and they could end up in a whole different part of the galaxy.

“We’re set, let’s move!”

Having received Changmin’s permission, Chanyeol started to make his way out of the hangar, looking for a spot where it would be safe to take off. Once such a spot came into view, Chanyeol quickened the pace of the ship and soon enough they were off the ground. Another moment passed and they were in hyperdrive, as Chanyeol kept his eyes on the coordinates, still quietly cursing under his breath.

The rest of the way seemed to flash in front of his eyes—getting in touch with Tython, arriving there in a flash, smooth landing and Baekhyun being taken to the Order’s medical wing where droids would try their best to patch him up. As soon as his redhaired friend left his view, Chanyeol knew there was nothing more he could do for Baekhyun. Only hope for the best.

“Everything will be fine.”

A steady grip on his shoulder reminded Chanyeol that Changmin was still by his side.

“How bad is the wound?”

“I won’t sugar-coat it, Chanyeol. He lost a lot of blood.”

Tears started to cloud Chanyeol’s vision as his eyes fixed on the Master’s robe, covered in Baekhyun’s blood.

“You need to pull yourself together, Padawan. The Council is coming together for an emergency meeting and we have to explain what happened. Take some time to gather your thoughts and join us in the Great Hall once you’re ready.”

Chanyeol nodded and after a reassuring squeeze the hand on his shoulder disappeared as Changmin headed towards the entrance.

“Baekhyun.”

* * *

The emergency meeting had gone worse than Chanyeol could’ve ever imagined. He had expected the Council to be all ears and ready to look for whoever had decided to attack one of their own but that didn’t happen. Instead, the Council second guessed his every word, refusing to believe that a Sith would come after a Padawan. Everyone knew how much pride the Siths had so, in their opinion, it made no sense for one to attack someone who hadn’t even reached a decent rank.

Of course, Chanyeol knew his emotions were heightened but he couldn’t help but feel like the Council was actually ridiculing him, maybe even mocking him for assuming that such a dangerous opponent would attack them.

Having his every word doubted right as Baekhyun was fighting for his life made Chanyeol question everything the Order had taught them. There were no traces of the need to protect or defend, and there were certainly no traces of the Council respecting him.

“Siths were taken care of decades ago,” “If they want to return, they wouldn’t start with random Padawans,” and “They wouldn’t bother to deal with you,” were only some of the phrases that stuck in Chanyeol’s mind. Maybe it was the heightened emotions, maybe it was the lack of Baekhyun by his side, but Chanyeol felt more vulnerable than ever. Someone he cared for deeply had been attacked, yet the ones who vowed to protect peace in the galaxy didn’t even care.

Chanyeol made his way towards the medical wing only to be greeted by Sehun. The younger one was visibly worried and that alone scared Chanyeol. Sehun often masked his true emotions so seeing actual anxiety and panic had Chanyeol on edge.

“How is he?”

“They’re still operating. But… It’s bad.”

“How bad?”

“Well… The shooter used a modified version of an old DC-17 hand blaster.”

“What? Haven’t those been out of business since the Clone Wars?”

“Yeah, that’s why we definitely can say it was illegal.”

“How was it modified?”

“It had an added stun setting—they made sure to not only injure Baekhyun, but also attempted to target his nervous system.”

“That makes no sense.”

“It does if they wanted to gift him long-term suffering.”

While Chanyeol disagreed with practically everything the Council members had told him, one thing united them—inability to figure out why the hell someone would attack Padawans.

“Did you see who attacked him?”

“See him? I fought with him.”

“And? Who was it?”

“A Sith.”

Sehun’s eyes widened at the word.

“What? But… It makes no sense!”

“Spare my time. I already went over this with the Masters and they refuse to believe me.”

“How do you know it was a Sith?”

“The tell-tale red lightsaber.”

“Yeol… You can’t be serious-”

“That and he himself fucking said he was sent by the Sith Order.”

“Oh, really? And he just happened to be so generous with answers?”

Chanyeol could hear a mocking tone in Sehun’s voice, the same one Jedi Masters had had in the Great Hall.

“Who cares why the fuck he did it? Baekhyun is in danger and everyone second guessing my words sure isn’t helping!”

Just as Chanyeol raised his voice, a C-3PO unit entered the hallway.

“Sirs, no matter what the reason for your conflict is, I’m sure it can be resolved in a peaceful manner. The medical wing is no place for arguments.”

Chanyeol could only roll his eyes. Honestly, if not for Baekhyun, he probably would’ve left years ago. Sure, the Jedi seemed cool when he was a kid but the older he got, the more flaws he found. However, Baekhyun and the promise they had made still kept him here and he had no idea what he would do if the only person he cared about stopped existing.

Luckily, he didn’t have to find out as after six hours of surgery the med droid announced that Baekhyun was safe. However, the droid wasn’t programmed to mask the truth so the unit also spilled that it wasn’t sure how the bolt had affected Baekhyun’s nervous system and, consequently, motor abilities.

As soon as Chanyeol was allowed to go to Baekhyun, the taller one stuck by the patient’s side, hoping that Baekhyun would soon wake up. Days and nights passed but there were no developments and Chanyeol felt almost as if someone was torturing him, making him look at Baekhyun’s barely alive body for days on end.

This feeling didn’t leave Chanyeol even when Baekhyun finally woke up. Yes, his best friend and lover was finally awake but Baekhyun was just a shell of what he once was, unable to move or do much. Seeing Baekhyun so desperate was the final push for Chanyeol to leave the medical wing for a bit to get some fresh air and scream his frustrations out.

“Fuck!”

Chanyeol had practically ran up the highest nearby cliff and was sure everyone could hear him but he didn’t care. Even after several weeks the Council doubted him and didn’t even bother to check the facts. Once Sehun had mentioned the modified blaster, Chanyeol thought he had his evidence but even that was overlooked by the Masters.

“You fucking idiots!”

“Now, now. What’s frustrating you, my Jedi friend?”

Chanyeol turned around only to find Heechul standing right behind him. This time Chanyeol was smarter though, approaching the Sith and letting his hand glide through the Force phantom.

“You’re a quick learner. That’s what we like.”

“Why Baekhyun?”

“Why not him?”

“Have Siths sunken low enough to attack apprentices? Not even someone of your own rank?”

“Cute, but don’t value yourself so low.”

“What do you want?”

An evil grin made its way onto Heechul’s lips.

“You.”

The sudden announcement made Chanyeol furrow his eyebrows.

“What?”

“You would be such a perfect Sith, Chanyeol. I could feel your untamed power then and now. You’re bigger than this.”

“I would never join the Sith.”

“That’s what they all say until they try the true meaning of the Force.”

“I’m good as it is, thanks.”

Chanyeol tried to talk away, making Heechul laugh.

“A quick learner, yet so dumb. It’s not like you have a choice. If we want you, you’ll come to us.”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Baekhyun.”

The word made Chanyeol’s eyes widen, as Heechul approached him again with a shit-eating grin.

“Tell me—did I manage to turn him into a vegetable?”

Chanyeol didn’t reply but Heechul certainly noticed how the other’s hands formed tight fists.

“Come on, tell me. Did I? Or will I have to come for him again?”

Chanyeol’s face started to become red.

“Am I making you angry? Do you want to teach me a lesson?”

“At least I’m not a fucking coward who hides behind phantoms.”

“It would be dumb to come to an enemy’s territory, no? The whole Jedi Order knows you’re all muscle but no brain.”

It was clear that such personal attacks didn’t have as much of an impact so Heechul returned to hitting where it hurt most.

“Baekhyun is the wonder boy yet you’re tagging along, aren’t you? Without him you’ll continue to run around like a headless chicken, huh?”

Still no answer followed.

“Then take it as me freeing you from the curse. I’ll kill him nice and slow so you can evolve. Or do you want to keep him as a non-moving pet? Tell me – how much is he suffering? Does he cry often?”

That was enough to make Chanyeol actually tear up but the taller one took a deep steady breath.

“How about I kill you instead?”

“But I thought Jedi don’t attack?”

The mocking tone kept pushing Chanyeol closer to the edge of composure.

“You said it yourself – they don’t see me as a Jedi but as Baekhyun’s byproduct. Fuck their rules.”

Chanyeol missed how pleased his answer had made Heechul.

“You’ll receive my coordinates soon. I’ll see you then.”

Before disappearing completely though Heechul approached him for one last time, dropping the smiles and becoming serious once again.

“If you don’t show up, your precious little friend will suffer.”

With that the Force phantom disappeared, leaving Chanyeol staring into thin air. He tried to think about his options but it was clear that he didn’t have any. The Jedi Council had ridiculed him enough already so turning to them again with “a Force phantom visited me” kind of story was out of the question. Changmin hadn’t been as negative as the rest of the Masters but Chanyeol didn’t feel like he would get any support from him either.

“Fuck.”

* * *

“Soon” turned out to be several torturous weeks later. Torturous because throughout those weeks Chanyeol had to watch Baekhyun slowly recover, starting to slowly move his hands to finally actually saying something. At one point Chanyeol even dared to hope that the meeting on the cliff might’ve been the last time he would ever have to see Heechul but, of course, fate wouldn’t have it. During one of the nights Chanyeol spent sleeping in a chair next to Baekhyun’s hospital bed, the Force phantom appeared again.

“Hi, Jedi.”

“What do you want?”

“The meeting – you still want to have it, or maybe you want to stay home and take care of the cripple.”

The evil snarl at the end of the sentence doubled Chanyeol’s anger that he had kept inside himself throughout Baekhyun’s recovery process.

“When and where?”

“Now. Empress Teta. It’s right next door so you shouldn’t take too long.”

“But it’s the middle of the night!”

“So? Is the baby scared? Or maybe you want me to kill him?”

Heechul leaned closer to the soundly sleeping Baekhyun as if sniffing around.

“Such a pretty little thing. It would be a shame if something happened to ruin his looks, huh?”

Chanyeol quietly but surely made his way towards the phantom only to snarl right into Heechul’s face.

“I’m coming and when I get there, you’ll die.”

Heechul only laughed before vanishing again, leaving Chanyeol to look at the sleeping form next to him. He knew that whatever might happen in the next few hours might change their fate forever. He was risking a lot—being expelled from the Jedi, losing Baekhyun and his life. But those were the risks he was willing to take to protect the other.

“Love you.”

It was just a whisper, quiet enough not to wake Baekhyun up but it meant so much more to Chanyeol. This was the first time he had admitted his feelings about the other. He was desperately in love. Now all Chanyeol could hope for was to deliver those words in person after taking care of the Sith.

* * *

Getting a ship turned out to be easier than Chanyeol had initially thought. However, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to leave without anyone noticing. He was piloting a fucking spaceship after all. Still trying not to cause a ruckus, Chanyeol slowly rolled the ship out of the huge hangar on to the landing pad, lifted it off the ground as quietly as possible, and went on his way. Even if no one had noticed him, the system definitely had registered a ship leaving the planet’s orbit. Chanyeol tried not to bother himself too much though, figuring that he could come up with an excuse once he returns. Well, if he returns, that is.

Empress Teta wasn’t really a planet but a just an astronomical object, its only population being comprised of carbonite miners. It looked pretty sad and depressing but it also made it clear why the Sith had chosen it. Chanyeol also didn’t have to look too far as a black spaceship was neatly parked right next to one of the mines.

_Great. What a lovely place to die and be buried in._

Having landed not too far, Chanyeol made his way towards the entrance, slowly starting to reconsider his plan. It was crazy for a Padawan to go against a Sith, but then again Heechul didn’t seem too strong and he should be able to win. Technically.

Much to his surprise, the interior of the mine looked a lot different than the small mines he had seen as a kid back on Corellia. Instead of a small tunnel where humans would be worked to death he was met with a huge hall filled with heavy machinery.

_Maybe all human miners have actually been worked to death?_

“So you showed up after all.”

Chanyeol didn’t get to look around for too long as Heechul was already waiting for him.

“You didn’t leave me a choice, did you?”

Heechul answered with a laugh, feigning innocence while making his way towards Chanyeol.

“You had a choice, petty Jedi. It’s just that you chose your pretty friend over staying out of it.”

“Why are you targeting Baekhyun anyway?”

“Because it’s fun to mess with you.”

The snarl slowly revived Chanyeol’s anger that had faded away before.

“Fun? It’s fun to see people suffer?”

“Isn’t it? Just think about your friend—how much pain he was in, how he couldn’t move or talk. A vegetable!”

Heechul let out another hearty laugh, continuing to list all things that had managed to hit Chanyeol’s core over the past few weeks. The Sith was certainly having fun now too, watching the Jedi’s eyes fill with tears.

“Oh, did I hurt your feelings? You know I can end it all right now—just let me kill him. Let me give him a taste of my lightsaber.”

The Sith ignited his red weapon and turned his back, walking away from Chanyeol, yet still voicing all sorts of disgusting things about Baekhyun.

“Ahh, yes. I can already imagine slicing that pretty tummy of his. He’ll be alive as I do it and will have to watch his own guts-”

The pent up anger and all too vivid imagination pushed Chanyeol over the edge as he suddenly ignited his lightsaber and charged at Heechul. Of course, such a move was expected so the Sith had no problems deflecting it. The two started an intense battle and Chanyeol certainly didn’t fall far behind the Sith in terms of his abilities.

Chanyeol kept chopping the air as Heechul skilfully moved out of the way right on time, while still sporting that shit-eating grin. In fact, Heechul made it clear that the fight hadn’t affected him yet, as he tried to act bored.

“Is this really all you can do, boy?”

The Padawan seemed close to giving up, which only amused Heechul even more.

“Do Jedi really prepare their apprentices this badly? Draw some energy from the Force, boy.”

As soon as he voiced the last word, Heechul charged right at Chanyeol, delivering swift cuts from both sides, which Chanyeol struggled to defend against. The younger one did listen though as Chanyeol tried to pull some energy from the Force. Surprisingly, Heechul backed off again, catching a breath himself and still trying to get something out of Chanyeol.

“Really? That’s all you’ve got? I was told you’re the best among Padawans, even got the Council scared, yet this is what I get? Pathetic.”

The mention of the Council reminded Chanyeol of the ridicule he had to face when saying that he had faced the Sith before. The disbelief, the disrespect, the lack of trust. Chanyeol started to realize that maybe, just maybe the Council didn’t believe him not because it was impossible to meet a Sith but because they didn’t believe he could survive in a fight against one.

_They probably think I can’t do anything. That I can’t amount to anything._

The anger kept rising and Chanyeol felt it again—the Force circulating through his veins, filling his arms with strength he had lacked before. It was taking over and Chanyeol certainly enjoyed the rush. He started to feel powerful again. As powerful as the Force had always intended him to be.

Throwing a hazy look at Heechul, who was still walking away from Chanyeol, the young Padawan charged at him again, this time delivering harsh and sharp cuts. His movements became faster, more powerful and certainly more reliable. Seeing Heechul actually struggle to deflect some of his attacks only made Chanyeol even more confident. The Sith didn’t seem too upset though, maybe even enjoying it.

“Come on, Jedi. Let the Force guide you if you don’t want me to gut your precious plaything.”

_Baekhyun._

That was the final push Chanyeol needed to really go all out just like he had on those training dummies as a kid. He let the energy guide him and the results were evident, as he finally managed to place a cut on Heechul’s arm.

“Good, good.”

Heechul continued to fight against it but the Sith’s energy seemed to now get drained at the same rate as Chanyeol gained his. The Jedi’s swings kept getting more and more vicious until he had Heechul pinned again the ground with the Sith barely struggling to push against the blade cutting down above him.

That’s when Chanyeol seemed to regain his senses for a bit, as he looked in horror at his own hands pushing the lightsaber down, trying to get a clean cut at Heechul’s throat. The Sith noticed it and the familiar evil grin appeared again.

“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts. Leave me alive and your pretty thing will get it.”

As Heechul began to relist all the things he would do to torture Baekhyun, Chanyeol gave in to the Force again, finally pushing down with all his strength until Heechul’s head was cleanly cut off of his body. The Sith didn’t scream or show any signs of pain. It was almost as if he had wished for it.

The energy was leaving Chanyeol again, as the boy kept staring at what he had just done. This wasn’t the Jedi way. This wasn’t any way to solve anything.

“Fuck.”

Close to sobbing, Chanyeol got up and quickly made his way back to the ship, as two hooded figures watched him walk away.

“Did you get it on tape?”

“Yes, Lord Jiyong.”

* * *

Chanyeol had decided to do some circles around the nearby planets before actually going back to Tython, which turned out to be a bad idea as he was now met with what looked like the entire Jedi Council on the landing pad.

“Fuck.”

The Padawan took a deep breath before turning all the systems off and making his way to those waiting for him. He had no idea why so many Masters would’ve gathered over him stealing a ship but their faces made it clear that it was actually serious.

“Park Chanyeol, explain yourself.”

Suddenly a tablet was shoved in his face, where a recording of what had happened a mere hour ago was playing, leaving Chanyeol’s mouth opened and eyes filling with tears again. He couldn’t even recognize himself even though it was clearly him. He just stared at the tablet as he watched himself kill the damn Sith.

“Fuck.”

While Yunho and Changmin seemed to take it easier, every other Master there certainly was pissed. Especially Master Leeteuk, as he practically screamed at Chanyeol.

“Well?”

“I… He’s the one who attacked Baekhyun.”

“So you decided to hunt him down?”

“No! He… He returned and threatened us again.”

“Why on Earth would a Sith bother himself with two Jedi apprentices?”

“I don’t know.”

Chanyeol was now crying, understanding just how deep the shit he was in truly was.

“We’ve taught you better than this! This is not how Jedi solve conflicts!”

Despite the tears, Chanyeol didn’t even consider stepping down from his decision, not matter how loud Leeteuk’s voice got.

“Oh, sorry for not allowing him to kill Baekhyun!”

“That’s all you think about, isn’t it? Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun… Do you even realize that you’ve dirtied the Jedi Order?”

Chanyeol couldn’t believe his ears.

“So you really value your reputation more than anyone here?”

The sudden question shut Leeteuk up, as even he couldn’t think of a way how to explain it to Chanyeol.

“Listen-”

“No. Just tell me what my punishment is and let’s leave it at that. Everything else is already clear to me.”

Having heard that, Yunho took it as his duty to announce the decision the Council had made right after watching the recording.

“Park Chanyeol, you’ve been expelled from the Order.”

The announcement definitely struck Chanyeol to the core but he didn’t even think about fighting against it.

“Fine. Can I at least gather my stuff?”

With that the Masters stepped aside to form a path, which almost resembled a path of shame. Chanyeol wasn’t sure how he was meant to feel. On the one hand, he had always felt kind of out of place in the Order. On the other hand, he had built his dreams on it. It was a bittersweet ending to say the least.

Of course, Chanyeol didn’t pack his stuff and leave right away. Instead he packed his own stuff, as well as Baekhyun’s and headed towards the medical wing. He couldn’t wait to see his best friend as Chanyeol knew Baekhyun would listen to him and would never judge him for what he had done.

Sadly, he might’ve relaxed all too quickly, as he walked in on Baekhyun holding the same damn tablet and crying. In a heartbeat Chanyeol was by his side on his knees, trying to explain everything.

“Baekhyun, I… That’s the Sith who threatened us.”

“And you killed him?!”

“What was I supposed to do? He said he would kill you!”

“Chanyeol…”

Now Baekhyun realized why Master Changmin had warned him about personal relationships. They had gotten way too involved and now it was affecting not only them but also the Order.

“Baekhyun, we need to leave.”

“What?”

“I can’t stay here, Baekhyun. But I packed your stuff and we can make it-”

“What are you talking about, Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun’s eyes had already gotten all puffy but confusion could still be clearly read in them.

“Y-you’re leaving with me, right?”

Baekhyun took a deep breath, trying to figure out what the hell the other was on about.

“Chanyeol, you do realize you’re asking me to choose between my dream and us?”

“So? I made that choice an hour ago.”

Baekhyun looked down, his voice becoming a whisper.

“I guess our priorities differ.”

“They clearly do.”

With that Chanyeol got up and took a good last look of his supposed-to-be best friend before heading out the door, leaving everything he had packed on the floor where he had placed it.

* * *

Baekhyun needed time to figure things out. He knew he had kept Chanyeol in check for all these years but seeing what had happened when he was away truly scared Baekhyun. This wasn’t about cutting up some puppets anymore. This was a real person and Chanyeol had killed him.

“Damn it, Yeol.”

While struggling to fall asleep in the hospital bed, Baekhyun spent countless nights wondering what had went wrong.

_They were friends. Don’t Jedi have friends? They do. They had started to have sex. Don’t Jedi have sex? Well, it’s supposedly frowned upon but still everyone does it… So what the fuck happened?_

“He fell in love with you, Baekhyun.”

It felt as if Changmin had sneaked up on him although Baekhyun knew he was probably just too deep into his thoughts to notice the other’s arrival.

“But… We never discussed any feelings. There were none.”

“Maybe there were none on your part but Chanyeol… Chanyeol loves you enough to kill.”

Baekhyun knew he and Chanyeol had to talk it out. They had to find a solution.

“Can I see him?”

“Who?”

“Chanyeol.”

“Baek, he’s been expelled.”

“What?”

The shock on Baekhyun’s face slightly surprised Changmin.

“What did you think would happen?”

“Isn’t expulsion the worst of them all? This was his first offence-”

“He killed a man, Baekhyun. Plus, Chanyeol attacked him first. You saw it.”

“Yeah, but maybe Chanyeol was provoked?”

“Even if so, Chanyeol should’ve known better. Jedi are meant to bring peace, not death.”

“So… What happens now?”

“Well, both Yunho and I have also been expelled from the Council. We still are part of the Jedi Order but we are not part of the Council. Also, I’ve been deemed to have no capabilities of teaching, so you’ll be assigned to a new Master.”

Baekhyun could only nod. The situation seemed all too drastic but Master Changmin did have a point and Chanyeol had gone berserk on his watch.

“Don’t worry, Baekhyun. My best guess is that you’ll be assigned to Minseok. He became a Jedi Knight only a few years ago but he’s a good learner and certainly will be able to teach you a lot.”

All the Master got was another nod.

“I’m sorry for failing you both.”

“No, Master. It was our own fault.”

At least that’s what Baekhyun initially thought. However, as time passed and months without Chanyeol turned to years, Baekhyun started to realize that it was his fault more than Chanyeol’s. Baekhyun was the one who had initiated their friendship, Baekhyun was the one who kept holding onto his hand when he was scared and Baekhyun was also the one who initiated their first kiss. Heck, Baekhyun was even the one to beg for sex.

_I failed him._

* * *

Minseok turned out to be a great Master, although he and Baekhyun seemed to be more like brothers rather than a scholar and an apprentice. At first Baekhyun was worried that Minseok might hold a grudge since Baekhyun and Chanyeol effectively ended Changmin’s reputation but that didn’t seem the case. If anything, Minseok seemed understanding and even shared Baekhyun’s sadness a bit.

“You miss Chanyeol, huh?”

The Jedi Knight had caught Baekhyun sneaking to the quiet corner he and Chanyeol used to use as a safe place for their midnight conversations. The Padawan thought for a bit before releasing a small laugh, signalling his defeat.

“It’s stupid, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not. You practically grew up together so it’s understandable that you two are closer than others.”

“You know… No, that’s really dumb.”

“You wanted to ask if the longing will ever stop?”

His teacher could read Baekhyun like an open book.

“Yeah.”

“It depends. It would be easier to forget if it were just a friendship, but love… That’s a whole different thing.”

“Love…”

Baekhyun was still unsure if it was really love that connected him and Chanyeol. Or more like he was still telling himself that it wasn’t. Even a porg would’ve realized it by now, yet Baekhyun stubbornly refused to accept it. Jedi weren’t meant to fall in love so he tried to maintain the belief that he hadn’t broken this rule.

The final push for him to believe it was indeed love was the next time he managed to see Chanyeol. It was a while after Baekhyun had become a Jedi Knight himself. He and Minseok had been sent for some peace talks to the conflict obsessed Basilisk. As usual, neither of the sides wanted to talk it out and so the two Jedi found themselves in the middle of a battle.

It had seemed like an easy fight between smugglers and civilians until the smugglers were backed up by what seemed old remains from Sith Empire’s outdated battle droids. Baekhyun had seen such things in books but had never imagined to actually see some in real life.

“Shouldn’t these things be rusted by now?”

“Apparently, no.”

One of the things Minseok had never understood was how Baekhyun managed to perfectly slice up an attacking opponent and talk at the same time.

“How are they still functioning? Well, this one isn’t anymore.”

There was a glimpse of achievement as another droid fell from Baekhyun’s hand. The two Jedi slowly made their way through the battlefield, leaving piles upon piles of droid parts everywhere, towards what seemed to be the mothership of the never-ending droid army. They knew they had to take it out for the conflict to finally die down.

However, what Baekhyun certainly wasn’t ready to see was Chanyeol standing on the ship’s bridge, overlooking the battlefield. If seeing Chanyeol alone wasn’t shocking enough, the fact that he was wearing Sith robes took Baekhyun aback so much he didn’t even notice a battle droid taking an aim at him. If not for Minseok’s push to the side, Baekhyun would’ve had a huge hole in his body by now.

“Yah! Byun Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun just laid on the ground with the droids’ blaster bolts and Minseok’s lightsaber causing chaos around him. The young Jedi kept staring at the mothership until it suddenly left the ground and took off.

“Great.”

Minseok’s voice lacked any sort of enthusiasm but at least now that the distraction was gone, Baekhyun returned to the battle. His moves weren’t as gracious as before but he got the job done and soon the battle was over. Only once they were back to their own ship did Minseok dare to ask.

“What happened?”

Silence.

“Baekhyun?”

“Did you look at the mothership’s bridge?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you see something?”

“A Sith.”

Minseok answered so calmly as if it were the most normal thing ever, making Baekhyun lift an eyebrow.

“And it doesn’t surprise you because?”

“The battle droids gave it away. Plus, you know there have been rumours about their return. Why did it affect you this bad though?”

“The Sith… It was Chanyeol.”

Now it was Minseok’s turn to raise eyebrows.

“What? How do you know? We were too far away!”

“That energy. I’ll always recognize him. Like an imprint. It was him, Minseok.” Tears started to fill Baekhyun’s eyes. “Well, it was him and it wasn’t him. It’s Chanyeol, but not really.”

“Kid, you’re making no sense. Did a blast hit your head without me noticing?”

Minseok was about to check but Baekhyun seemed unbothered.

“It was his energy but it was so… Cold. Dark. Angry.”

“You mean the energy a Sith would usually have?”

“Yes. It was Chanyeol but just so fucking twisted.”

Minseok refused to believe it and advised Baekhyun not to say anything to the Council. However, soon after more and more news started to come in about Jedi of all ranks seeing Chanyeol. At first they were just sightings but then as the situation in conflict areas started to escalate, news about Jedi having to face the young Sith also started to pour in. Then the legends started to have a name - Lord Pyro.

Judging from the tales, Chanyeol had become quite merciless. Some Jedi that had trained with him had tried to talk to him but Chanyeol provided no answers, only physical attacks. The first few seemed like simple confrontations but then news about Chanyeol actually killing Jedi shook the Jedi Order to the core and Master Leeteuk was quick to point fingers at Yunho.

“See? We all told you he would be trouble! We all told you to drop him!”

“So? You were the ones who kicked him out. He didn’t kill any one of us while under my watch.”

Yunho seemed to keep his calm, while Leeteuk was yelling his heart out.

“You shouldn’t have trained him in the first place!”

“No, we just should’ve trained him better.”

“He was trouble since the first day!”

“Chanyeol was lost and we failed him by training him not accordingly to his skill levels.”

“Oh, now killing is a skill?”

“It’s what he has resolved to after our own failures.”

At this point Changmin decided to step in as well.

“It was my failure for not teaching him how to deal with his feelings.”

This almost made Leeteuk explode.

“So you want to say he had this darkness in him all along?!”

“No… But we failed to teach him that it’s alright to love or how to deal with relationships. We failed to teach him how to observe a healthy distance.”

Before Leeteuk got to yell something back at Chanyeol’s old Master, Baekhyun entered the Great Hall, attracting everyone’s attention.

“You summoned for me?”

“Ahh, Baekhyun.”

Leeteuk tried to take a deep breath before talking to the young Jedi Knight. The topic was sensitive for Baekhyun after all.

“As you might have heard, Chanyeol has reappeared in the worst way possible.”

Just the mention of the name made Baekhyun tense.

“He seems to be slowly picking the Jedi Order apart, starting from the lowest ranks and slowly making his way up.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it.”

“On the contrary, Baekhyun. Considering the past you two share, we believe you might be the only one capable of facing him. You’re his weakness, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun surely didn’t want to hear that.

“Such a long time has passed, I doubt-”

“You still think about him, don’t you?”

The question caught Baekhyun off guard and Leeteuk seemed to take the Jedi Knight’s silence as an answer.

“Our best guess is that he might feel the same, thus, revealing a vulnerability.”

Baekhyun hated it. He hated himself and his feelings being used like this but he had no way out of it either. This was the reality he had built for himself and Chanyeol. He had made his bed and now he had to lay in it so Baekhyun simply nodded in defeat.

Next thing Baekhyun knew he was already on his way to Kuat since the Jedi Council had received a hint that the industrial planet might be cooperating with the rising Sith forces. It would be no surprise as the shipbuilders there had already previously supported not only the Galactic Republic and Jedi but also the Galactic Empire and Sith.

* * *

The shipyards seemed rather quiet. There was certainly evidence of some activity but for now no workers were in sight. Having found a good place to land, Baekhyun decided to explore a bit. Even if there were no living beings to question, there should be some clues as to what was going on.

One of the hangars in particular caught Baekhyun’s attention. Some larger ships had been parked in front of the entrance so it was hard to peek in but something seemed slightly off. Remembering Minseok’s lessons, Baekhyun decided to try and feel the place, hoping that the Force would warn him in case of danger.

The Jedi Knight took a deep breath and closed his eyes, at the same time concentrating all his energy to reach inside the hangar, past the ships and deeper inside. Everything seemed normal at first but then he felt it. The darkness, the cold, and a shit load of anger mixed in with something oddly familiar. The dots connected very quickly, as Baekhyun’s eyes flew open.

“Chanyeol.”

All Baekhyun’s senses were telling him not to enter the hangar but, of course, he didn’t listen. Maybe it was Baekhyun’s curiosity, maybe Chanyeol just had a special pull, but it sure was something Baekhyun couldn’t fight against. Or more like didn’t want to.

After taking a deep breath and retrieving his lightsaber from his robes, Baekhyun made his way towards the hangar. His steps felt kind of heavy but he didn’t know if it was due to the sense of an impending doom or just the guilt he had been fighting for years.

The inside of the hangar seemed normal enough – the lights were on and spaceships of various sizes were placed forming a neat circle. Some had clearly been worked on quite recently, while others seemed pretty much ready to go. Baekhyun knew his ex-best friend was somewhere around there but nothing seemed out of place or signalling danger. Until a red lightsaber appeared at the far end of the hangar where lights seemed to have been shut off.

“Chanyeol.”

Before Baekhyun knew it Chanyeol was charging right at him with the Jedi barely managing to ignite his own lightsaber in time to deflect. Baekhyun had no time to think as Chanyeol kept showering him with attacks, switching sides of the cuts and trying different levels of strength. Suddenly Baekhyun thought he now knew how the poor training droid felt all those years ago.

Chanyeol just kept going, slashing and cutting the air between them. The fact that Baekhyun managed to escape every attack Chanyeol had made so far seemed to anger the Sith even more. The duel probably looked like a wild dance from the side with slashes of blue and red mixing and clashing.

Baekhyun didn’t even attempt to attack as Chanyeol kept him busy enough with the never-ending blows. From the right, from the left, from above—blows just kept coming. Besides, Baekhyun didn’t even know if he could attack the other. So the Jedi finally decided on the only option he seemed to have—running. Finding a suitable hole in the rhythm of Chanyeol’s attacks, Baekhyun bolted towards the exit of the hangar.

Of course, that didn’t go as planned. Although he ran as fast as he could, Chanyeol caught up by performing some sort of parkour magic. Having suddenly landed right in front of Baekhyun, Chanyeol blocked the exit and slowly walked towards the now frozen Jedi. Baekhyun just watched as Chanyeol approached him, slowly circulating his lightsaber from side to side.

“Chanyeol.”

It seemed like Baekhyun’s voice had actually triggered the Sith as now Chanyeol was back to showering Baekhyun with constant blows. The dance of the lightsabers continued anew and neither of the two seemed to give up. Their skills seemed to be similar too with Baekhyun blocking the Sith’s attacks as effectively as Chanyeol delivered them.

After a while Baekhyun started to wonder how much time had passed. Having caught a glimpse of the ship he arrived in, Baekhyun realized that they had somehow exited the hangar and it was already getting dark. Baekhyun’s muscles were hurting and he was sweaty all over but the attacks just never stopped. At this point the Jedi started to wonder what would happen if he gave up.

Luckily or not, he wasn’t meant to find it out just yet as a familiar ship appeared above their heads. The surprise was enough to make Baekhyun and Chanyeol finally separate as both tried to see who was behind the ship’s steering wheel. A second later the ship’s docking area opened and a clearly visible Jongin threw down a rope.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol made eye contact as the duel got reignited again but at least this time Baekhyun knew what his goal was. The rope was already in his hand and everything seemed fine until he felt a sharp pain in his side. As Jongin tried to pull Baekhyun up, the Jedi stared down at the red slowly taking over his cream-coloured robes and then at a very smug Chanyeol.

Even when Baekhyun landed in Jongin’s hands, his sight was still focused on the Sith. But Chanyeol just kept striking the ground with the red lightsaber like an angry bull. Baekhyun didn’t understand what the hell was he supposed to do or what Chanyeol wanted from him. That’s how Baekhyun soon passed out – with his hand on the injury and eyes fixed on Chanyeol, the ship leaving just a second after.

Baekhyun wasn’t out for long, as the medical droid on board of the ship quickly took care of his injury and offered some smelling salts to arouse Baekhyun’s consciousness. As soon as the Jedi opened his eyes, he was met with Jongin and Sehun’s worried looks.

“Stop looking at me like I’m dying, nerds.”

“You hear that, Jongin? We save his ass and this is how he says thank you.”

The playful nagging didn’t brighten the mood quite as Baekhyun had hoped as there were way too many unanswered questions on the trio’s minds. Jongin was the first one to voice at least one of his.

“So it’s really Chanyeol?”

“Did you still have doubts? I told you it was him from the beginning.”

“Yeah but you know… I just hoped for the best.”

Sehun’s furrowed eyebrows indicated that the youngest one among them also wanted to voice his question.

“What does he want?”

“I have no idea. He didn’t even say a word to me. We just kept duelling over and over again.”

“Well, at least now we know you two are of equal power.”

Suddenly Jongin joined in again.

“How was it to fight with him?”

Baekhyun could only glare.

“Not too fun, if I’m honest. The part where he cut a hole right under my ribs sucked in particular.”

“Sorry.”

Baekhyun knew he was angry at himself, not Jongin.

“No, I’m sorry. Well… It was quite frustrating. Even though we’ve been apart so many years, it feels like we still know exactly what the other will do. It’s like a never-ending cycle.”

“Do you know how long you two were at it?”

“No. How long?”

“About four hours.”

The number made Baekhyun’s eyes widen.

“Well, it did feel like forever.”

As the ship signalled their soon arrival at Tython, Sehun and Jongin headed back to the cockpit, leaving Baekhyun alone to rest. The Jedi just watched the lines of light shooting by outside the window suddenly become small dots as the ship exited hyperdrive. However, his attention was soon averted from the dots to a fucking large ship parked not too far away from their ship, with what seemed to be battle ready weapons aimed right at Tython.

“What?”

Despite the pain in his side, Baekhyun practically glued himself to the window as realization started to dawn on him.

“No! No!”

The Jedi kept screaming and banging at the window as if that could change what was about to happen. A few seconds later the large unknown charged up its weapons before a huge red beam engulfed Tython. That’s when Baekhyun felt it—the scream of thousands of souls suddenly vanishing into thin air.

“No!”

Tears started to roll down Baekhyun’s cheeks. Suddenly he felt utterly weak and useless. He didn’t even have to look to know that now instead of Tython there was just a huge meteor garden. The Council, the Jedi Order, the civilians—everything was gone into thin air. Next moment he felt the ship make a jump and so Baekhyun stumbled towards the cockpit, trying to figure out where the hell were they going. There he was met with equally devastated Sehun and Jongin.

“Where are you taking us?”

Sehun barely registered the question.

“It’s on autopilot. I have no clue where we’re going.”

That seemed a good enough answer to satisfy Baekhyun as he didn’t care about the rest. Their home and basically family had just been destroyed and now they had nowhere to go anyway. So Baekhyun just slumped down in a vacant seat and the trio just waited for their trip to end.

* * *

The trio actually managed to fall asleep and were awoken by the ship touching the ground. From the outside view it was clear they were on a landing pad but that didn’t solve any of their questions. However, Minseok’s voice on the hologram recording playing on the dashboard did.

“Sorry for taking you on this sudden journey, but if you’re hearing this message, it means that something bad has happened to many or all of the Jedi Order.”

The moving image tugged at Baekhyun’s heartstrings, especially when his old Master actually mentioned him.

“I sent Sehun and Jongin after you, Baekhyun, because the sudden mission seemed a bit too odd. I’m afraid that the Order might be corrupt and, judging by the fact that you’re now hearing this, my hunch was right.”

It was starting to get harder and harder to look at Minseok as the gravity of the situation started to weigh in.

“Most likely the danger was caused by Chanyeol. That’s why I’ve programmed this ship to take you to the last planet in the galaxy he would search for you—Corellia. Try to blend in until you figure out a plan of action. Stay safe and may the Force be with you.”

With that the small hologram vanished, leaving the trio to try to grasp the new reality they had to face now.

* * *

For the first few weeks the trio didn’t seem to be able to grasp the situation in full so they just mourned and followed their late Master’s advice – tried blending in and surviving. First task to successfully start to blend in with Corellia’s society was giving up on their Jedi robes. Those were a dead giveaway. Sehun volunteered to find something for them and when he returned with a pile of clothes, no one objected or asked any questions. Well, apart from Jongin.

“So you get yourself a white leather jacket and a nice pair of pants, while all I get is a white tracksuit?”

“What’s wrong with a white tracksuit?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that I will stand out everywhere I go?”

“It was the only thing I could find, okay? Get yourself something else if you don’t like it.”

In the meantime, Baekhyun seemed more than pleased with the clothes Sehun had given him—nice black jeans, white shirt, and a blue and white sports jacket. The latter contrasted with his red hair particularly beautifully, in Baekhyun’s opinion.

“Thanks, Hun.”

After finding something to mask themselves, the trio started to wonder what they could do on this crappy planet. Neither of them wanted to spend their days just sitting in the ship so they had to figure something out.

“There have to be some good jobs, right? There’s no way everything here is criminal!”

At times like this Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile at Sehun’s innocence.

“The planet is controlled by smugglers so yeah, it’s pretty impossible to get a job that’s not related to it.”

Something seemed to have set Jongin off.

“So this is what we’re doing now? Job hunting? Our brothers died, the Sith are returning to power, Chanyeol is after us but we’re looking for a fucking job? It’s ridiculous!”

Baekhyun remained calm though.

“It might seem so but we need to figure out a plan. What can we do right now? What do we want to do right now?”

“Get revenge!”

“First of all, don’t forget the good old saying—fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering. So you might want to calm down a bit. Secondly, we have to act smart if we don’t want to end up like our brothers.”

“Baekhyun is right, Jongin. There’s not much we can do. We need a solid plan and that takes time. So what do you want to do? Just sit here and do nothing?”

Baekhyun understood that Jongin might feel like he was being attacked but that was never his or Sehun’s aim. Still, he understood why Jongin stormed out and wondered if he need to follow him.

“Give him time.”

Sehun seemed right.

“Okay, I’ll just go find some food then. Is there something you crave?”

“Chocolate milk?”

“I doubt they have it here but I’ll look.”

With that Baekhyun also left. As soon as he had become Minseok’s apprentice, the Master had advised him to save up some money as they could never know when they would need it. Being a very obedient student, Baekhyun followed the advice and he had to say—he had never been so happy for saving a few druggats every now and then than now.

With about 150 druggats on his card, Baekhyun confidentially marched into the store, looking the shelves up and down. Much to his surprise, it seemed like a regular store you’d usually see on Coruscant—nothing really criminal about it. They turned out to have chocolate milk as well. Of course, the cashier who happened to be a Mirialan with very beautiful face tattoos looked Baekhyun up and down before ringing his cart up.

“Your kind is not safe here.”

“What?”

“I said your kind is not safe here, Jedi.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened at the announcement.

“Why do you think I’m a Jedi?”

“Because birds of feather flock together.”

With that the Mirialan pulled her vest back slightly to show a lightsaber, making Baekhyun even more confused.

“You said Jedi are not safe here but… you’re one?”

“Only the toughest survive here. My name is Yeji, by the way.”

“Baekhyun.”

“It was hard to hear about what happened to the Order. Is that why you came here?”

“Well, yeah. We needed a place to go to so-”

“We?”

“There might be a couple more of us.”

“First lesson, Baekhyun—don’t tell anyone anything.”

The sudden announcement made Baekhyun furrow his eyebrows.

“But you’re one of us!”

“You never know how this planet corrupts you and who you can trust. While I may still use some of my skills, I’m far from what I was supposed to become.”

“May I ask why?”

“I got kicked out for anger issues.”

That made Baekhyun realize that maybe Chanyeol’s case wasn’t such an exception after all.

“What did you do? Chop up a training droid?”

“No. I almost killed a Master. To be fair, it was his own fault—why challenge me when he clearly knew I could take him out? If you ask me, I’d say it was a conspiracy. He didn’t like me, called me out in front of everyone and by doing so got me out.”

Baekhyun made a mental note to ask Jongin and Sehun if they had ever heard about such an incident but decided to change the topic for the meantime.

“So, is it safe for me to come here? And my friends?”

“Sure. I’m not going to hurt you. Unless you cause trouble, of course.”

With that the Mirialan handed the products to Baekhyun.

“That will be 2 druggats.”

“Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Well, you are paying not only for the stuff but also my silence, so.”

“Hmm, good point.”

* * *

Once Baekhyun had explained the encounter to Sehun and a now calmed down Jongin, both seemed to recall hearing something about it. Sehun, being the all hearing ears as usual, seemed to know a bit more though.

“There was a story going around, mainly because she acted so unlike a Mirialan. Mirialans as a species are generally deeply spiritual and believe in karma and stuff but this girl just loved to cause problems.”

“Who was the Master she attacked?”

“Yunho.”

“What? She had the guts to go against the Chair of the Jedi Council?”

“Well, he wasn’t in the position back then, just a Master who was teaching younglings about defence. The same class Chanyeol started to act weird.”

The mention of the new Sith made Baekhyun uneasy. Sehun seemed willing to entertain the topic.

“So what does Chanyeol want?”

“Revenge.”

Jongin was short and precise, making Sehun confused.

“Revenge for what and against who?”

“Against Jedi for making him part with Baekhyun.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not. I mean, he probably thinks that the Jedi took the only good thing in his life away from him.”

“Jongin, I get that you’re getting all deep right now but aren’t you overrating Chanyeol? How would he know that Baekhyun was the only good thing in his life when he was just a teen?”

“Sometimes you just know.”

“Then why did he attack Baekhyun, smartass?”

“He probably feels like Baekhyun betrayed him by siding with the Jedi or something.”

The two seemed to love to have a fun time, fighting over Baekhyun’s relationship with Chanyeol, but Baekhyun himself already felt exhausted. Having slipped away and left the pair to themselves, Baekhyun lied down in his bed, going over the same topics he had just heard.

The young Jedi was sure that Jongin was right. Chanyeol probably wanted to take out his anger on the Jedi Order. Blowing the whole Tython up seemed quite extra but Chanyeol had always been a bit excessive in everything he did. As for Baekhyun himself, the Jedi knew Chanyeol had a damn good reason for it. Baekhyun had broken his heart (something he only later started to realize and regret) and taken Chanyeol’s dreams away from him. Remembering how he had lured Chanyeol in with all their firsts, Baekhyun couldn’t come up with a reason why he shouldn’t be punished.

Baekhyun had messed Chanyeol up. There were no questions about it.

* * *

A few months passed and, despite trying to keep their Jedi morals, the trio started to feel how the criminality of Corellia started to affect them. Somehow all three had gotten into the smuggling business, making short trips and sometimes even using Jedi tactics to get some pretty illegal stuff into Coruscant. The black market on Corellia was certainly thriving and the trio’s services soon became famous as they seemed to have a 100% success score.

They still tried to retain some sense of good and bad, as they agreed to smuggle only solid stuff like coffee and alcohol, some bootleg holos, expensive clothing, some substances, but never any living things. That was certainly a huge no for each and every one of them.

In fact, the business started to go so well that soon enough Jongin could change his white tracksuit to a full-on suit. They also started to take shifts to make sure they wouldn’t let anyone down and get death marks for messing up the wrong person’s business.

As Baekhyun made another trip to Yeji’s store, which had become a rather frequent hangout spot for the trio, the budding smuggler tried to figure out what he was craving for. Something sweet? Or something alcoholic? He could afford it all so everything seemed so tempting.

Baekhyun kept looking the shelves up and down, making his way down every aisle and playing with his lightsaber in his hand (yes, they had actually become that cocky) when he felt his pocket vibrate. Ever since they had gotten into the black market business, the trio had recognized the need to communicate with each other every so often so Sehun had been kind of enough to provide them with these nice gadgets.

The flashing name signalled that Sehun was calling and Baekhyun started to wonder if the baby of the trio wanted another carton of chocolate milk or maybe some cereal with it. However, the worried voice at the other end immediately wiped the smile off of Baekhyun’s face.

“Jongin is gone.”

“What?”

“He called, saying that he’s in huge shit. Something went wrong. His tracker went out just now.”

The trackers—another genius idea from Sehun to keep them up-to-date with each other’s whereabouts.

“What did he say?”

“He had come out of the jump to Jedha and there was a huge-ass ship blocking his way. Jongin guessed it was the same one we saw back at Tython.”

“So you mean?”

“Chanyeol.”

“How would he know Jongin’s route?”

“Have you forgotten the area we’re working in? Someone probably sold the information to him.”

“Fuck. Are you sure we can’t track him?”

“No. The droids are unresponsive as well so… The ship was probably blown to pieces or something.”

“There must be a way, there must be something-”

“I’m hoping for the best, too, so I’m making my way over there. Just a heads up. If my tracker goes out, you’ll know why.”

“Sehun!”

Sehun ended the call before Baekhyun could make any objections, leaving Baekhyun in a total panic. He had lost one of his brothers and might be on the way to losing another one.

“Fucking hell!”

Without much thinking, Baekhyun let the anger take over, throwing the phone to the ground and starting to push and kick products off the shelves. This went on for good few minutes before Baekhyun took a bottle of cold water and sat down on the floor, still angry but with no energy left in him.

“Fuck.”

“Has something happened?”

Only then did Baekhyun notice Yeji who had stood there all along, observing the demolition of her store with some slight amusement.

“Jongin is dead. Sehun is on his way to being dead.”

“Oh. Too bad—they were nice kids.”

Baekhyun was about to scold her for lack of sympathy when the lights of the store started to flicker. It seemed weird at first but once the energy hit Baekhyun he knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Run.”

Yeji didn’t think twice, leaving her position and heading out of the store. If a Jedi Knight tells you to go – you just do because some serious shit was definitely about to go down. She could only hope that the place won’t need a total renovation after it.

Baekhyun remained in his spot on the floor with his decorated lightsaber by his side. That’s when he saw him—Chanyeol, standing at the end of the aisle with his ignited red lightsaber.

“So you want a round two?”

As soon as the question left Baekhyun’s mouth, Chanyeol charged at him. However, this time Baekhyun knew running would be a better option than fighting. It was a real test for his physical abilities. Baekhyun didn’t even think before turning down various alleyways, trying to hide in the crowd, then running through some alleyways again. Still, Chanyeol’s presence in the Force was strong, clearly indicating that the Sith was right behind him.

Remembering the story Chanyeol had told him when they were kids, Baekhyun started to look for a ladder that would lead to the rooftops. Having lady luck on his side, he managed to find one. Baekhyun climbed as fast as he could, keeping the fast pace once he got onto the rooftop too. He didn’t have much time to think so Baekhyun just started to jump from one rooftop to the other, trying to get further away from the ladder he had taken.

“Byun!”

It was the first time Baekhyun heard Chanyeol’s voice after all these years and it effectively stopped the Jedi in his tracks. Baekhyun just stared at Chanyeol who had just landed on the rooftop too. The Sith’s lightsaber was now strapped on his belt and the two just stared at each other.

“What do you want from me? Revenge?”

No response from Chanyeol followed.

“Do you want to kill me?”

Baekhyun was about to continue his run when finally Chanyeol spoke up.

“With Jongin and Sehun taken care of, you’re the last Jedi in this damn Galaxy. With you gone, the Sith can really take over.”

“Really? That’s why you want to kill me? Somehow doubting it. In fact, we both know it’s not the real reason.”

“What is the reason then?”

“I’m the only one who can bring you back, right? That’s the threat I’m creating?”

“There’s no way back for me, Byun.”

“Stay there.”

The sudden order made Chanyeol raise an eyebrow but soon he realized what Baekhyun was doing. As the Jedi closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, he felt Chanyeol’s energy. Yes, it was pretty dark and angry and the Sith started to smile, feeling Baekhyun fail to find anything. Until Baekhyun succeeded, that is.

Now Baekhyun was the one sporting a smile as he found the little speck of light left in Chanyeol’s Force aura. Baekhyun would’ve explored more but the process was sucking out what was left of his energy and, knowing well that the race wasn’t done just yet, Baekhyun let go.

“There’s still good in you, Yeol.”

“As if.”

What Baekhyun had done seemed to have angered Chanyeol as the Sith now was back to chasing after Baekhyun. Although Baekhyun seemed to jump roofs like pro, the Jedi started to wonder what the point of it all was. He was the last Jedi and Chanyeol could easily find him through Force (which, Baekhyun guessed, had happened earlier). Even if he succeeded in running away today, there would most likely be another chase tomorrow.

As his thoughts started to run equally fast, Baekhyun started to become clumsy, slipping and sliding over the roof tiles every now and then. Chanyeol, however, was on point. So once the mistake happened and Baekhyun fell down, rolling to the end of the roof and barely managing to catch onto a drain, the Sith was there to pull him up.

“I thought you wanted me to die.”

Baekhyun was starting to feel all giddy with Chanyeol’s arm wrapped strongly around his waist.

“Not yet.”

Next thing Baekhyun knew he blacked out. With the limp body in his hands, Chanyeol pressed a button on the intercom on his wrist.

“I have him. Pick us up.”

Soon a smaller spacecraft showed up right where the pair was waiting and Chanyeol took no time to pick Baekhyun up and bring him into the ship. If his Master wanted to see the last Jedi, Chanyeol had no choice but to obey.

However, what Chanyeol didn’t expect was for two smugglers to feel confident enough to try to bring his ship down. He was the only conscious one on the ship so he had to choose between putting on autopilot and heading to the gun compartments to fight back or to pilot the damn ship. Not trusting the autopilot to manoeuvre well enough in the wilderness they were heading to, Chanyeol chose the latter.

“They seem rather stubborn.”

Chanyeol threw a glance back to find Baekhyun standing in the doorway of the cockpit. However, the Sith had a lot bigger trouble to worry about than his ex-best friend so Chanyeol didn’t pay much attention to him.

“You should be out.”

“As if anyone can sleep through this ruckus.”

While everything was confusing the shit out of Chanyeol, the Sith kept trying to manoeuvre through the rain of blaster canon bolts aimed right at them.

“Don’t these assholes realize it’s a Sith ship?”

“That’s why they’re targeting it. They probably think you have something really valuable here.”

“Fuck.”

Right as the word left Chanyeol’s mouth, the gadgets on the dashboard started to beep and flash, indicating that they were in some really deep shit. During the chase, Chanyeol had managed to choose a speed that surely was too huge for this mountainous terrain. Looking out the window, Baekhyun had no idea where they were anymore. He didn’t even know Corellia could have such deserted places where sand and mountains were all there was.

Baekhyun was about to ask a question when the ship’s belly touched a cliff and both passengers knew that was it. The beeping increased as the ship started to violently sway from side to side, shaking everyone and everything on board. Another “fuck” from Chanyeol was the last thing Baekhyun heard before the ship crashed to the ground.

* * *

Baekhyun didn’t know just how much time had passed. It could’ve been just a few minutes or a whole eternity. All he knew was that his head was buzzing and very dizzy. Looking around, he realized that he had been thrown out of the broken window of the ship and he was now lying in some hot sand right between different parts of the now crashed ship.

Raising his hand to his forehead, Baekhyun realized he was bleeding. However, a smaller explosion at the end of the ship caught Baekhyun’s attention instead. That’s when he realized he didn’t see Chanyeol anywhere near him.

Trying to read Chanyeol’s aura would take way too much energy, so Baekhyun decided to rely on his gut. The Jedi got up and headed towards the window he had been thrown out of, slightly limping and falling over his feet as his head kept spinning.

“Chanyeol!”

Baekhyun tried to peek inside only to find a body lying on the cockpit’s floor.

“Chanyeol! Crap.”

Having taken a deep breath, Baekhyun somehow climbed inside the broken window, earning a few new cuts all over his body from the shattered glass.

“Chanyeol!”

The Sith was out with a badly bleeding wound on his side. Another explosion followed, reminding Baekhyun that they needed to get out as soon as possible. The window seemed like the best option and Baekhyun didn’t know where the actual exit of the ship was anyway. So the Jedi gathered the last energy and strength he had, somehow dragged Chanyeol towards the window and pushed him out of it. Then he took another deep breath and rolled out of it as well, again earning fresh cuts.

But Baekhyun didn’t care. His main task now was to get both of them away from the ship. Ignoring the pain, Baekhyun dragged Chanyeol further and further away. He had barely managed to cross a decent enough distance when the whole ship went up in flames and more explosions followed.

Baekhyun covered Chanyeol’s body with his own, feeling some of the ship’s parts land around them. Luckily, none hit them. As soon as the Jedi deemed it safe enough to look around, Baekhyun decided to put the last of his energy to some good use and try the skill Minseok had told him about but never actually taught him—force healing. In Baekhyun’s opinion, Minseok didn’t do it because the Master thought it was just a legend. But all legends have a grain of truth to them. Or so Baekhyun hoped.

Remembering one of the legends of the Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, Baekhyun placed his hand above Chanyeol’s injury, trying to relax and reach out through the Force. The Master supposedly had taught the older Jedi Knights to “reach out, reach inside, touch the Force through the pain and renew” so that’s what Baekhyun tried to do.

If Ki-Adi-Mundi could heal a broken collar bone, Baekhyun could heal a stab wound, right? So the Jedi tried to focus on Chanyeol’s injury, tried to visualize the cells coming together again, the wound closing on its own. If Chanyeol’s body needed energy to do it, Baekhyun was willing to give it. He felt the blood flow renewing, the tissue merging and once Baekhyun felt he could let go, he looked at the wound where now nothing could be seen.

Allowing his fingers to travel across the skin, Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile. Until he realized just how much energy it had asked of him that is. Still sporting a smile, Baekhyun allowed himself to rest next to the still unconscious Chanyeol, hoping that the Sith would get better.

However, what he surely didn’t expect was to wake up in a cave of some sort, sleeping in a makeshift bed. It looked like someone had gathered everything they could from the wreckage and carried it to wherever he was now. That someone now sitting by a fire, staring at the flames and cooking something. Baekhyun guessed it was some desert creature Chanyeol had hunted down.

“What a lovely place.”

Baekhyun’s voice immediately got Chanyeol’s attention.

“It’ll have to do for now until back-up comes.”

A moment of silence followed before Baekhyun dared to ask the only question on his mind right now.

“Why didn’t you kill me? Why did you bring me here?”

“My Lord wants to see you. Not sure why but if that’s what he wants, that’s what he gets.”

“So now you’re some Lord’s bitch?”

The wording earned Baekhyun a glare.

“How does it feel like to be the last Jedi?”

“Is it something you’re proud of?”

“Not really but now at least the Sith can function without you all messing up our plans.”

“And what are your plans? A new Empire?”

“Something like that. Though the only thing I want is the ability to do whatever I want. Jedi couldn’t give me that but Sith can.”

“Really? You needed to join the Sith just to feel free? Could’ve done that without them too.”

“But then I wouldn’t have become as powerful, huh?”

Chanyeol’s logic was quite faulty and Baekhyun could feel that the Sith himself wasn’t even sure about his answers. But then again, that was exactly what Baekhyun had hoped for. He knew the other had never been bad. That’s why Chanyeol’s decision to join the Darkside had seemed so shocking. Now seeing that Chanyeol indeed hadn’t become a senseless monster reassured Baekhyun that maybe there really was a way to bring him back.

“So what’s for dinner?”

“A needle rat.”

“Disgusting.”

“Sorry that the whole food stack burned down.”

The apology wasn’t sincere and the tone made Baekhyun giggle, earning him another glare. While he wouldn’t say it out loud, Baekhyun kept getting more and more confident that the man sitting by the fire was still his petty friend who was just a little lost in his life.

That night Baekhyun offered to share a blanket as they seemed to have just one and the night was getting quite chilly, but Chanyeol refused.

“The back-up will be here soon. Enjoy your sleep while you still can, Byun.”

Baekhyun was utterly loving Chanyeol’s pettiness as he had missed the other’s sharp tongue. Willing to test the waters a bit more, Baekhyun stayed up and waited to see if Chanyeol still couldn’t pull an all-nighter and indeed soon enough the Sith started to feel sleepy. Chanyeol tried to pace around a bit but Baekhyun acted as if he was already asleep. The small fake snores seemed to calm Chanyeol as the Sith finally settled down in a corner to nap a bit.

Hearing the other’s snores, Baekhyun tried his hardest not to giggle again. Chanyeol was still pretty much Chanyeol after all. Gathering enough courage to push it a bit further, Baekhyun quietly stood up and made his way over to Chanyeol with the blanket in his hands. Making sure that the other was still soundly asleep, Baekhyun gently settled down next to Chanyeol, covering them both with the blanket.

The night had become really cold and so Chanyeol’s body seemed to appreciate the warmth. Of course, there was the risk that Chanyeol might wake up and get wild after Baekhyun’s trick but the Jedi decided to take his chances and so he curled up against Chanyeol’s side, hoping for the best.

The best didn’t come though as Baekhyun got shoved away as soon as Chanyeol woke up. After rubbing his eyes out Baekhyun realized he was actually getting a death glare from the other.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Byun?”

“Just didn’t want you to catch a cold, that’s all.”

“Right, as if I’ll believe your mind games.”

“Mind games, really?”

Chanyeol seemed so utterly confused and lost and Baekhyun couldn’t help but find it adorable.

“It’s still cold, so just come back and let’s get some more sleep.”

After a minute of thinking Chanyeol actually obeyed which kind of surprised Baekhyun. However, the Sith kept a good distance between them, ending up with only a little part of the blanket. Being in a playful mood, Baekhyun decided to keep on pushing, by practically jumping onto Chanyeol’s back to cover them both again.

“Stop playing around and stay warm!”

The next thing Baekhyun knew he was pinned against the ground with strong hands gripping his wrists tightly.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Nothing.”

Chanyeol was glaring, basically burning holes in Baekhyun’s head, while the Jedi just kept smiling at him. The smile vanished only when Baekhyun realized how he had missed having Chanyeol on top of him. The old pull was still there and Baekhyun couldn’t help but stare at Chanyeol’s lips, wondering if they still tasted the same.

The air kept heating up by the second, as did Baekhyun. Just a few seconds later Baekhyun decided to try his luck by rolling his hips up against Chanyeol’s crotch. The Sith just stared at him, but Baekhyun could see in Chanyeol’s eyes that he wanted him too. Another hip roll later Chanyeol suddenly leaned in, crashing their lips together.

It was far from the sweet and cute intimacy they had had before. No, this was needy and animalistic, as if the two of them had been starved for years. Soon Chanyeol shifted to attack Baekhyun’s neck and the Jedi was already getting really into it when a sudden darkness hit them. It was in the Force around them. The same darkness and anger Chanyeol’s aura had had. Chanyeol immediately pulled away to reach out to it.

“It’s him. He’s here.”

Chanyeol struggled to stand up, looking like a kicked puppy, but before Baekhyun managed to say or ask anything, a man walked in, covered in Sith robes. Chanyeol kneeled without a question until the Sith signalled him to stand.

“I was so worried, my Apprentice. We lost all connection with you.”

“The ship was taken down by some smugglers and ended up exploding. But I knew you’d find me, Lord.”

“Of course, we would never leave you behind.”

The hooded figure approached Chanyeol and gave him a not-so-heartfelt hug. Then the hooded figure turned around to look at Baekhyun who was still laying on the floor.

“The last Jedi, yet so disgraceful. What has this religion turned into… Secure him and let’s head home.”

With that two stormtroopers appeared, without hesitation putting some handcuffs on Baekhyun’s hands and practically yanking Baekhyun to his feet. He looked at Chanyeol hoping to receive at least some sort of an answer but the Sith kept his gaze fixed on the ground. Once Baekhyun was taken away and only the two Sith remained in the cave, Chanyeol earned a heavy slap on his face.

“Focus, Apprentice. We have greater plans for you than screwing with the Jedi.”

* * *

Baekhyun didn’t know what to expect. He knew how to wrap Chanyeol around his finger, but his Master—that would be a challenge. As the Jedi had already guessed, he was taken to a cell on the Sith Lord’s ship and taken to the huge ship he had seen next to Tython. The same ship that allegedly might’ve taken Jongin and Sehun’s lives.

_Great._

Soon Baekhyun was shoved into another cell, a more permanent one. He really couldn’t figure out why he was still alive. What could a Sith possibly want from him? He didn’t possess any secrets or special skills. In fact, Baekhyun wasn’t special at all. Just a regular Jedi Knight who once used to fight for peace in the Galaxy. But even that morale had been corrupted on Corellia.

_Maybe there’s a room full of Sith waiting to see the execution of the last Jedi Knight as some sort of sick entertainment?_

There couldn’t be enough Sith to fill a room though. There had always been just two—the Master and his Apprentice. If it was for their entertainment, they would’ve done it back at the cave.

_Unless they have something extra gruesome in mind, maybe?_

Baekhyun couldn’t imagine Chanyeol being into disturbing and disgusting things.

_Chanyeol._

He hadn’t really seen his ex-friend ever since they left Corellia, yet Baekhyun could still feel Chanyeol’s lips on his own. It was just like back in the old days. A perfect match, if anyone asked him. The fact that the Sith had given in to him meant a lot to Baekhyun. That and the little patch of light Baekhyun knew Chanyeol still had.

As it seemed like night was already nearing, Baekhyun decided to find out just what his ex-lover was doing. He could feel that Chanyeol was on the ship, so Baekhyun decided to try another trick and create a Force phantom where Chanyeol was, hoping that the Sith was alone. Having found Chanyeol and not feeling any other Force sensitive being there, Baekhyun did just that.

Much to his surprise, Chanyeol was asleep in what seemed to be his room. Of course, the Sith ship lacked any sorts of interior design or even comfortable furniture, but at least Chanyeol had a bed and some sort of a bathroom in the corner of the room. Although it took a lot of strength from Baekhyun, the Jedi tried his best to explore the room before finally approaching Chanyeol. He could feel his energy drift away but Baekhyun wanted to see that sleepy face again. Soon after Baekhyun opened his eyes and was back in his cell again. Little did Baekhyun know that as soon as his Phantom vanished, Chanyeol opened his eyes as well.

The wait dragged on for days and Baekhyun was starting to wonder if the Sith had actually thought it through. Because right now it was starting to seem like they had no clue what to do with him or why they had captured him in the first place. So Baekhyun spent his days just staring out the window into space, eating the poor meals some stormtroopers brought twice a day and visiting Chanyeol at nights.

Of course, on the third or fourth night Chanyeol finally confronted Baekhyun’s phantom, questioning his reason for appearing.

“I just want to see you.”

That was the only answer Baekhyun could come up with and it seemed to confuse both Chanyeol and Baekhyun himself. Since they had gone back to talking, Baekhyun decided to finally ask his own questions that had tortured him ever since he found out Chanyeol had become a Sith.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you turn to the dark side?”

The question created a bittersweet smile on Chanyeol’s face.

“Because they accepted me for what I am.”

“And that is?”

“Someone who craves freedom. Someone who has Force on his side but doesn’t want to be tied by some ancient rules.”

“But you’re tied to your Master.”

“Yes, I have to report to him and do some tasks but I have more freedom than with the Jedi.”

“You’re not like this though. This whole thing—the Sith robes, the destroying of planets, the killing of people. It’s not you.”

“How would you know what is and isn’t me?”

“We aren’t exactly strangers, Chanyeol.”

With that Baekhyun dared to approach Chanyeol. He slowly made his way towards his ex-lover, while Chanyeol just stared at him. Once Baekhyun got uncomfortably close, Chanyeol tried to back up only to land on his bed. Quickly sitting up, he saw Baekhyun still approaching and the next thing he knew, Baekhyun’s phantom had leaned in for a kiss. Of course, since it was only a phantom, there was no real feeling there but Chanyeol could help but lean in as well only to open his eyes again to see that Baekhyun had vanished.

* * *

With every passing day Baekhyun felt more and more confident that his Chanyeol was still there and that maybe there was a way to not only bring Chanyeol back to the light but also to reverse the betrayal he had put him through. Of course, there was the point that many people, including the entire Jedi Order, had died by Chanyeol’s hand but Baekhyun started to think that he could still save him.

Once again Baekhyun’s phantom appeared in Chanyeol’s room, only to be met with a small smile playing on Chanyeol’s lips. For already a number of evenings they had talked about a lot of stuff—how this Lord Jiyong dude had approached Chanyeol when he left the Jedi, how the Sith had offered freedom and revenge. Somewhere between the lines Baekhyun realized Jongin might’ve actually been right—it seemed like Chanyeol had started to hate the Jedi because they had split them up.

It was one of those nights again that Baekhyun hoped to spend with his friend until he was yanked out of his seat, making him lose the connection and the phantom to vanish. This definitely worried Chanyeol.

Baekhyun opened his eyes only to find two stormtroopers in his cell.

“Where have you been travelling to, Jedi?”

“We can offer you a lot more fun, you know.”

Baekhyun had never heard about stormtroopers committing sexual harassment or anything worse but that seemed to be happening now. One of the attackers held him in place while the other started to try to remove his clothes. Of course, Baekhyun was having none of that. Using his strong legs, and despite the lack of energy from forming the Force phantom, Baekhyun managed to kick the one fidgeting with his clothes right in the head, knocking him out.

The second one saw his mate go down and that seemed to clearly anger him. Next thing Baekhyun knew he was let go and tased right after. As the electricity kept running through his veins, Baekhyun felt every muscle in his body twitch in pain, yet he couldn’t even scream. He barely even registered the door opening and Chanyeol walking in. A moment later the taser-wielding stormtrooper was lying on the floor next to his mate with a broken neck.

Before Chanyeol got to Baekhyun, two more stormtroopers entered. However, seeing how pissed off the young Sith was, they immediately raised their hands in defeat.

“Lord Jiyong wants to see you. Both of you.”

With that the two went on to bring Baekhyun up to his feet and take him to meet the Sith Lord. Only Chanyeol’s warning stopped them for a bit.

“One wrong move with him and both of you will die.”

The stormtroopers nodded and so the group headed towards Lord Jiyong’s quarters. The Sith Lord was already waiting for them, sitting on his throne like in a movie of some sort. This was the first time Baekhyun actually got to see the Lord’s face as he wasn’t wearing the usual Sith robes. Honestly, Jiyong didn’t seem bad-looking at all, but the use of the Darkside had definitely taken its toll.

“Ahhh, Pyro.”

Baekhyun smirked at the nickname—he had always known about Chanyeol’s obsession with fire, but this was too much—and his cheery mood caught Lord Jiyong’s attention.

“Aren’t you too happy for someone who was attacked mere minutes ago?”

That’s how both Baekhyun and Chanyeol realized that it probably was Jiyong’s doing. Usually stormtroopers wouldn’t do anything like that, but a little help from some mind tricks might do it. Although the realization had hit them both, only Chanyeol dared to speak with the Sith Lord.

“So it was your plan?”

“Yes, it was. And you proved my point.”

“Your point, Lord?”

“You’ve always refused to kill people, yet did it so easily when it came to protecting the _Jedi_.”

The last word gained a disgusted undertone in the Sith’s voice but Baekhyun didn’t pay attention to it. The fact that the stormtrooper back in the cell was Chanyeol’s first kill (well, after the guy who got Chanyeol kicked out) again made Baekhyun’s heart jump in joy.

“It’s not like that, Lord.”

“Yes, it is, and don’t dare to oppose me. I can sense your every thought and emotion and it’s clear that this Jedi is holding you back from your true potential. That’s why we have to do something about it.”

With that the stormtroopers forced Baekhyun on his knees in front of the Sith Lord as Jiyong made his way towards Chanyeol to hand him a lightsaber.

“Kill him. Let it set you free.”

Although Chanyeol took the weapon, he didn’t seem to get much further than just staring at how it fit his hand.

“Isn’t that what you wanted, Pyro? Freedom? This is your key to it. Get rid of the only thing holding you back.”

A full minute passed and the fact that Chanyeol hadn’t said a word or done anything seemed to be getting on Jiyong’s nerves.

“He is the last Jedi in the Galaxy! The only one keeping us back from achieving our destiny!”

Again nothing changed.

“Fine, Pyro. If you’re too weak to do it, I will, but I’ll do it a lot more painfully.”

With that Jiyong raised his hand, aiming blue lightning bolts towards Baekhyun, causing a lot more pain than the taser had before. Chanyeol just stared at Baekhyun squirming around in pain, obviously fighting an inner dilemma. What he surely didn’t expect was for Baekhyun to use the last of his energy to reach out for him through Force just to find that patch of light again. As soon as Chanyeol felt Baekhyun hitting on it, tears started to roll down his face.

Little did Baekhyun know that the little patch was formed by Chanyeol’s memories of their good times together. Hitting on it, combined with seeing Baekhyun twitch in agony, was enough to make the decision for Chanyeol. Finally, the Sith ignited his red lightsaber—however, instead of aiming it towards Baekhyun, Chanyeol dared to attack Jiyong.

Chanyeol had hoped that his Master was too busy with Baekhyun to notice but, of course, it wasn’t so. As soon as Chanyeol’s lightsaber came close to him, Jiyong ignited his own weapon, effectively deflecting the attack.

“So you’re really risking it all for him, huh? So be it.”

With that a vicious fight broke out that Baekhyun barely registered, struggling hard to regain his breath. Of course, the fight was rather equal, Jiyong being a Sith Lord with experience and Chanyeol being a natural at it. The dance of the two lightsabers reminded Baekhyun of the fight he and Chanyeol had had back at the hangar.

As Jiyong’s lightsaber slipped and cut a pipe of some sort, the room started to fill with smoke. Baekhyun couldn’t tell what the hell was going on around him but he could still hear the lightsaber buzzes and constant cuts with them. Sometimes a red line zipped past him but Baekhyun had no idea who it was.

Then silence set in and now only one red line was visible through the smoke. It was slowly approaching Baekhyun and the Jedi didn’t know what to do. Of course, he had hoped it was Chanyeol, but as the figure came into view it turned out to be Jiyong. As if answering Baekhyun’s question as to why the Sith wants to kill him so much, Jiyong decided to voice his feelings.

“Your whole kind should die.”

Baekhyun wasn’t sure if a “kind” was the right reference to the Jedi but now was no time to argue. Right as Jiyong raised his lightsaber for an attack, Baekhyun tried to reach out in the darkness, summoning Chanyeol’s lightsaber and igniting it right in time to defend himself. Despite feeling totally worn out, Baekhyun was up for the fight, as another dance of lightsabers started in the smoke.

Trying his hardest, Baekhyun deflected the Sith Lord’s attacks like a pro. There were a few slip-ups now and then, earning Baekhyun a few cuts, but nothing too serious. That clearly annoyed his opponent as Jiyong started to get more aggressive, involving more kicks and punches in a sword duel.

A powerful kick from the Sith knocked Baekhyun flat on the floor. It knocked the breath out of his lungs, making him drop Chanyeol’s lightsaber somewhere on the floor. The triumphant smile on the Sith Lord’s face made it clear that this might very well be the last breath Baekhyun would ever take. At this point, the Jedi wanted to close his eyes and go in peace, but a red lightsaber igniting right behind Jiyong’s back caught his attention instead.

The lightsaber pierced the Sith’s chest from behind as Jiyong’s face formed a confused and distorted expression. He didn’t get to look back at the attacker and only once his body had hit the ground did Baekhyun realize it was Chanyeol standing behind him.

“Thank God.”

Baekhyun finally had a chance to catch his breath, uncertain what the hell they were supposed to do now. He didn’t have time to think much as suddenly an alarm sounded throughout the ship. Seeing Baekhyun’s questioning look, Chanyeol could only shrug.

“Looks like we’re under attack.”

“Who would be crazy enough to take on this monster?”

“We’ve been getting hints about a new Rebel Alliance forming. Or more like the old one re-gathering. If anything, my guess is it’s them.”

“Is there a way to get off from this ship?”

“Escape pods.”

“Where?”

“Follow me. I’ll get you there safely, then I will return to end this.”

Then Chanyeol got pulled back by Baekhyun’s hand on his wrist.

“What do you mean by return? Aren’t you coming with me?”

“What for?”

“Chanyeol.”

The desperation was tugging at something in Chanyeol’s heart but the Sith didn’t want to give in that easily.

“You really think this would work out? It didn’t back then, it won’t now.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re a Jedi. It’s forbidden, so-”

Before Chanyeol managed to finish his sentence, a red line appeared in the doorway they were heading towards, indicating that a battle droid was trying to get in.

“Fuck.”

“Is there any other way out?”

Chanyeol started to look for one around them but nothing came to his mind.

“I don’t think so. But it’s okay, we can do this. Back up.”

Baekhyun followed Chanyeol’s motions, returning back to the main chamber and hiding by the doors. They could hear the huge piece of metal hit the floor, indicating that the droid had succeeded. Next they heard the droid make its way closer until a few grenades landed right beside them. The pair looked at them in shock and without much thinking headed for the door again, slicing and dodging the battle droids—there turned out to be three of them.

Once that was taken care of, the couple started to move towards the docking area. Or at least that’s what Chanyeol was saying. Baekhyun didn’t have any knowledge of the ship’s plan so he just blindly followed, hoping for the best. Of course, their way was blocked by more and more incoming battle droids and stormtroopers, but neither Chanyeol nor Baekhyun had struggles chopping them up. After finishing off another dumb droid, Baekhyun couldn’t help but look at Chanyeol and think that it almost felt like the good old times.

It seemed like Chanyeol might’ve had the same thought as both exchanged quick smiles before heading forward. As they got closer and closer to their target, Baekhyun started to question why it was so easy for them to get there. Chanyeol didn’t seem that surprised though.

“Without Lord everyone is pretty much confused. Plus, most of the forces probably were sent to fight against the intruders. If anything, I’d say it’s weird we haven’t met them yet.”

Of course, the Murphy’s law always worked, including now. As soon as the phrase had left Chanyeol’s lips, a blue lightsaber almost managed to cut him in half, only blocked by Baekhyun’s lightsaber. Looking up, Baekhyun was surprised to find Yeji.

“Don’t, he’s ok.”

“A Sith Lord is ok? Have they brainwashed you, Byun?”

Suddenly Sehun’s voice followed somewhere from the back.

“If Baekhyun says he’s ok, I believe him.”

Baekhyun had never been so happy to see Sehun, especially after having thought that the younger one had met the same fate Jongin had. But it wasn’t the last shock for him to absorb as suddenly Jongin’s voice could be heard on the intercom on Sehun’s wrist.

“How much longer are you two going to take?”

“We’ve located them. Going back now.”

“Them? What do you mean by _them_?”

Sehun decided to shut the intercom off instead of giving an answer.

“He won’t understand. I don’t understand either but he’ll definitely go violent.”

A sudden blaster bolt barely missing Yeji’s head reminded the group where they were. The turn of events sure didn’t seem to make the Mirialan happy.

“Girls, chat later.”

That made Chanyeol raise an eyebrow but Baekhyun just pulled him with the group. However, much to his surprise, Chanyeol fought back.

“Listen, if we don’t take out this ship, we will be fried meat as soon as we get into its aiming radius. Someone has to take care of it.”

Before Baekhyun got to disagree, Sehun joined the conversation.

“Already taken care of. We’ve put about 61 dentons all over the ship’s core. She doesn’t have a chance.”

The news certainly returned Baekhyun’s smile.

“61 Pyro denton explosives – now isn’t that ironic?”

A shadow of a smile appeared on Chanyeol’s face as well, although the Sith was clearly still hesitant. Both he and Baekhyun seemed to ignore the efforts it took from Sehun and Yeji to ensure that these two could have a peaceful talk.

“Please, Chanyeol. Come with us.”

“You do realize there is no way for me to go back, right?”

Baekhyun seemed to be getting desperate as he approached his ex-lover and placed his hands on Chanyeol’s cheeks.

“Let me be that way. I know there is still good in you and I can bring it out. It will be like the good old days, Yeol.”

Then blaster bolt flew right between them, reminding the pair just where they actually were.

“Yeol, please!”

Having chopped up the damn stormtrooper that dared to intervene, Chanyeol threw a glance at Baekhyun.

“Fine, I’ll go with you. But this conversation isn’t over.”

This answer was enough to please Baekhyun as the group started to move again. The rest of the way towards their ship was a bit rougher as the forces were indeed concentrated on the intruders. Although the sizes of stormtrooper and battle droid groups seemed to increase, it was nothing four Force-sensitive beings couldn’t handle, and once their good old ship came into Baekhyun’s view, the Jedi couldn’t help but smile.

As soon as the four got close to the ship, Jongin opened the ship’s docking area, closing it right after and preparing to get the hell away from the massive ticking time bomb. His goal almost changed once the group joined him in the cockpit and he saw Chanyeol, but Sehun reminded him that now was not the time to discuss anything. They had to get away and quick.

So that’s what Jongin tried to focus on—getting the ship ready for maximum speed. Sure, he could’ve just made a jump to another part of the Galaxy, but even if neither one of them would admit it, everyone silently wanted to see the Sith massive spacecraft explode into tiny little pieces.

“We should be at a safe distance, but we’re ready for a jump at any time.”

Sehun didn’t even try to hide his smile.

“Perfect.”

It seemed like Yeji shared his sentiment as she started to count down for the dentons to go off.

“Five, four, three, two, one.”

As soon as the final number was voiced, a series of explosions started all over the ship, meeting right in the middle where the core was located. Most of the crew seemed to be happy to see the process, while Chanyeol still felt conflicted—it had been his home for quite a while after all—but then he felt someone take his hand and he didn’t even have to look up to know Baekhyun was there to reassure him.

They stayed back long enough to make sure nothing of the ship remained but not long enough to meet the backup that was probably on its way to try to salvage the wreckage. So Jongin finally made the jump back to Corellia. Only once the group got back to their so-called home and everyone had a cold beer in their hand did Jongin dare to raise the question again.

“So, is anyone going to tell me why the almighty Sith Lord is here?”

Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol seemed to be at a loss of words, so Sehun tried to provide his own interpretation.

“Well, from what I observed—I guess Baekhyun thinks Chanyeol isn’t that bad after all.”

Yeji raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he just tried to kill all three of you. Totally not bad.”

“Just one. I was after just one.”

Baekhyun made eye contact with Chanyeol but the Sith didn’t seem willing to explain. So he decided to continue the conversation they had had when he had shown up in Chanyeol’s room as a Force phantom for who knows which night in a row.

“So what happened? You mentioned they approached you—how?”

Jongin didn’t have any patience.

“He probably hated Jedi enough to look for an actual Sith to join, huh?”

“I didn’t look for anyone. In fact, they approached me before I had managed to get away from Tython.”

This seemed to be a surprise for the three Jedi, but only Baekhyun dared to ask.

“What do you mean?”

“I went to the ship to go wherever I thought was suitable back then and… Well, Jiyong was already on the ship waiting for me. He knew exactly what points to hit and so in a spur of emotions I got us to Athiss.”

“What did he promise you?”

“The opportunity to both train and retain my freedom.”

Jongin’s anger showed again, as the Jedi seemed to be unable to keep his mouth shut.

“And when did you start killing Jedi?”

Chanyeol took another sip of the cold drink, trying to figure out how to explain everything.

“Most of the things you heard about me were fake. There were several Sith Apprentices, actually. But all their bloody work got attached to my name. While we’re at it—Tython was not my doing either.”

Of course, Jongin didn’t believe it.

“As if I’d buy that.”

“For real. Jiyong knew Baekhyun was my weakness and was more than happy to provide an opportunity for me to meet Baekhyun in a fight. We sent out a fake report and that’s how you ended up on Kuat.”

At this point Baekhyun seemed to be the only one Chanyeol dared to make eye contact with.

“So you really were out there to get me?”

“I’m not going to lie, I tried. Luckily, Sehun and Jongin showed up. Although the fact that I actually injured you shocked me too.”

Yeji was enjoying the show, so when silence set in she decided to throw in a question to keep it going.

“What about Jongin then? The news about his death with you showing up right after?”

“Again, not my doing.”

That reminded Baekhyun of a very important question.

“By the way! What did happen to you? I thought you were dead?”

“Well, that ship sure tried to take me down, but what they didn’t expect was for me to jump into an escape pod and get the hell out of there. Escape pods don’t have any communication, so I decided to get rid of my tracking because I knew it would alert you.”

Baekhyun was satisfied with that, turning to Sehun for further answers who happily continued the story.

“As soon as I reached Jedha, I ran the scans of the debris flying around and almost cried from happiness when the ship announced that an escape pod was missing. So I headed towards Jedha and looked for some signs. Luckily, Jongin was smart enough to get some emergency lights out, so finding him was pretty easy. Then we went home and Yeji told us about Chanyeol’s visit. We started tracking and found you.”

Baekhyun was now sporting a proud smile.

“That’s why I love you, nerds. You’re smart as hell and know what to do when it needs to be done.”

Another moment of silence set in before Yeji voiced the last question on everyone’s minds.

“I know I’m going back to the store that _you_ ruined, but what about you guys?”

The emphasized “you” made both Chanyeol and Baekhyun feel slightly guilty, but Baekhyun knew that it probably wasn’t the first time the store had been wrecked so Yeji probably could deal with it. If anything, Baekhyun was ready to give her the remaining money he had from his savings to do it. But the question got the four guys thinking.

The question was a serious one. Previously, the trio had hidden themselves and lived as smugglers on Corellia to survive but now there was no need for that. They were free to go as they pleased. Somehow having to decide their own fate seemed scary to Sehun so he was quite willing to keep the things as they were.

“How about our business? I’m pretty sure we’re already behind the orders so we might’ve earned some serious enemies.”

Jongin seemed to agree.

“We might be Jedi and all that but I doubt it will save us, knowing our client list.”

Of course Baekhyun wasn’t pleased with his brothers continuing their criminal activities, but he also knew the list by heart and both of them were right when saying that even the Force might not save them.

“So we’re continuing our outlaw ways?”

Sehun shrugged.

“Do we have a choice? I kind of doubt that the business will die down. Especially not with the chaos we caused just now by destroying the budding Sith Empire 2.0.”

“Plus, you still have to fix my shop.”

Yeji had hoped to brighten up the mood but somehow it didn’t work. Maybe it was because the trio didn’t actually want to continue to be smugglers, maybe because they were just tired. Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol who seemed to have decided to go and catch a bit of fresh air. Without hesitation, Baekhyun followed.

As expected, Chanyeol was standing on the balcony, admiring the stars and taking in the planet that he once called home. It felt quite comical, really, to be back in this place after all this time. Baekhyun’s presence wasn’t a surprise to Chanyeol but he waited for Baekhyun to start the conversation first.

“So, about our conversation that wasn’t finished?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“But will you stay? Or do you have other plans?”

“I have no plans. They all blew up with that damn ship.”

“You actually wanted to be the most powerful man in the Galaxy, huh?”

“Yeah. I still had this silly idea that I could make it a better place for those who are weak. It was never meant to happen, I guess.”

“Chanyeol, we were kids back when we made those plans. We had no clue how complex the Galaxy actually was.”

“So you’ve given up hope on fixing it?”

“For now. I think right now the main thing is to try to fix ourselves. We need to get the ground back under our feet.”

“And what if we’re unfixable?”

Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was referring to himself but Baekhyun refused to believe it was the case. Everyone could be fixed, even a Sith Lord. To prove his point, Baekhyun approached Chanyeol again, placing his hand over the taller one’s heart.

“There’s always a way, Chanyeol. I could be your way.”

“It already failed once.”

“Again, back then we were kids. I had never thought that our argument could lead to you joining the Darkside. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was my own fault.”

That caused Chanyeol to sport a bittersweet smile.

“So you want to do it because you pity me? Nice one, Byun.”

“No, that’s not what I meant! I do have regrets though. And the biggest of them all, Chanyeol, is the day I let you go.”

The sincerity in Baekhyun’s voice finally made Chanyeol look into the other’s eyes. Much to his surprise, Baekhyun’s gaze was equally determined.

“But maybe it was a necessary evil. The push I needed to realize that I truly love you—definitely more than the Jedi or the damn Order.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

The sudden words caught Chanyeol off guard, just as the confession that followed.

“I love you, Park Chanyeol. I’m so fucking sorry it took this long for me to realize it but now I know for sure.”

Chanyeol was really at a loss of words.

“I had thought it was just longing when I kept missing your crazily handsome face or dumb jokes but no. The day I saw you again… It made me realize that it was a deeper connection. It was love. So if you think I’m worthy of another chance, I’ll do my best to make you happy, Chanyeol.”

If anything, Chanyeol looked like a kicked puppy with large teary eyes, unable to say anything. But in Baekhyun’s opinion there was no need for words anymore. What they really felt was what mattered and so Baekhyun let his arms wrap around Chanyeol’s neck, pulling the taller one into a much awaited kiss, which Chanyeol gladly answered.

“I love you, too.”

That was all Chanyeol managed to voice in the middle of the kiss as it got so much needier and passionate, with Chanyeol pushing Baekhyun back far enough to pin the slightly shorter one against the wall. Although Baekhyun enjoyed every minute of it, he knew they should find a better place for it. As soon as Chanyeol moved on to his neck, Baekhyun tried to fight against it.

“Let’s move to my room. Unless you want Sehun and Jongin to join us.”

The mention of the pair stopped Chanyeol in his tracks.

“Ew.”

“Exactly. Come on.”

Baekhyun took Chanyeol by the hand, eagerly leading the way to his bedroom. He knew that everyone else in the building knew what they were up to but he didn’t care. He had waited so long for this that ever since it almost happened in the cave outside the city, Baekhyun kind of couldn’t stop thinking about it.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Baekhyun found himself being lifted and pushed against it, as Chanyeol got back to attacking every inch of flesh he could get to. It didn’t take much to get Baekhyun hard and this certainly didn’t slip by Chanyeol, making the black-haired man chuckle.

“Someone is a little eager, huh?”

“What do you expect after what—more than four years of nothing?”

The sudden announcement had Chanyeol pull back.

“What? You haven’t had anyone since…?”

“No. Only you, Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun blushed at how much attention Chanyeol was paying to him but Chanyeol pushed their foreheads together, sporting a playful smile.

“Then that makes two of us.”

With that Chanyeol’s lips met Baekhyun’s again, as the smaller one wrapped his legs around Chanyeol’s waist only to soon be carried towards the bed. There the two started to practically rip the clothes off of each other without a care in the world. It was hard for Chanyeol to detach himself from Baekhyun but the four years of no action meant that Baekhyun had to be prepared extra carefully.

“Lube?”

“Top drawer.”

“I thought you said four years of nothing?”

Chanyeol’s voice was quite cheeky so Baekhyun decided to answer equally playfully.

“I wouldn’t count jacking off to thoughts of you as action.”

Chanyeol would be lying if he said that Baekhyun’s words didn’t increase the rush of blood towards his dick.

“You thought about me? Continue. About what exactly?”

It was both Chanyeol’s curiosity and the need to avert Baekhyun’s attention from the stretching that fuelled his questions.

“Just variations of this. About you showing up in my room because you missed my body or something. Also, having you lean over me and helping me to finish.”

“Sounds quite fun. Anything else?”

Despite the lack of action the first finger went in rather easily. The second one, however, was causing a bit of discomfort so Chanyeol kept mixing it between one and two digits.

“I tried to remember how it felt when you entered me. The stretch, the burn, the fullness. And how you moved inside me.”

There was a slight tinge of pain in Baekhyun’s voice so Chanyeol tried to slow down although his own angrily red cock was surely starting to demand attention too. Then Baekhyun spoke up again.

“I have an idea. Come and stand next to me.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

Chanyeol obeyed, retracting his fingers from Baekhyun’s hole and kneeling right beside Baekhyun’s head.

“Can you reach from here?”

Chanyeol had to slightly lean down but his long hands surely made the process easy, as he had no problems pushing three digits in.

“Mmm, good.”

With that Baekhyun suddenly took hold of Chanyeol’s cock and guided it to his mouth. The sudden contact made Chanyeol take a sharp breath as he started to move his fingers a little faster. Chanyeol’s cock seemed like a fucking good distraction as Baekhyun kept on moaning around his length, sucking on it and licking away as if he was hungry. Soon enough he had four fingers in and that was all Baekhyun could take.

“Fuck, Chanyeol, wait. Give me a cool off time.”

“Cool off?”

“Yeah, I want to come around your cock, not your fingers.”

The announcement made Chanyeol smile. While Baekhyun was catching his breath, Chanyeol moved to the end of the bed again, reaching for the lube and making sure to cover his entire length. As soon as Baekhyun gave the green light, Chanyeol settled down between his legs, teasingly rubbing the tip against Baekhyun’s hole.

“Ready, baby?”

“Fuck yeah.”

With that Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol down for a kiss and as soon as the two had repeated another round of “I love you’s”, Chanyeol finally pushed in. The tightness was mind-blowing for him, while the stretch was making Baekhyun go crazy. Wanting to make sure that the other was okay, Chanyeol immediately halted all his movements so Baekhyun could adjust. Trying to avert his attention from the pain, Chanyeol peppered every inch of Baekhyun’s skin with soft kissed and love bites.

“If you want me to pull out, just tell me.”

“As if.”

Chanyeol listened to Baekhyun’s breathing as it slowly went back to somewhat normal. A few moments later Baekhyun urged him to move.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, but one thing is for sure—I won’t last long.”

“Don’t worry about it, baby.”

As Chanyeol started to move, Baekhyun’s breathing quickened again and soon the room was filled with their moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. Both had longed for each other for so long that finally being together like this again seemed almost like a dream come true.

Despite the initial warnings, both found themselves still moving just fine even ten minutes in. However, Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol’s rhythm faltering, guessing that his partner’s hips were getting tired. Chanyeol’s hands were also shaking, indicating that he might as well collapse on top of Baekhyun. This couldn’t continue.

“Chanyeol, can I be on top?”

“Are you sure you want to?”

“Yeah.”

That was all Chanyeol needed to hear, as he slipped a hand under Baekhyun’s waist and rolled them around. His muscles were definitely thankful for the change of position.

At first Baekhyun’s movements were rather slow and careful, but once Chanyeol’s tip nudged against his prostate, sending tingles all over Baekhyun’s body, the smaller one started to really ride him. Baekhyun felt dizzy and giddy and all sorts of other emotions.

Chanyeol suddenly took a strong hold of Baekhyun’s hips, almost forcing himself deeper inside of Baekhyun. Baekhyun didn’t care that there were people downstairs. Instead he let all his moans out loud, as Chanyeol kept hitting that delicious spot that made Baekhyun dizzy with sex.

“Fuck, Chanyeol!”

The lewd sight and Baekhyun’s moans and tightness were driving Chanyeol crazy as well, as he started to feel the build-up in his lower tummy.

“Baek, I’m so close.”

“Me too.”

“Should I pull out?”

“No, fuck, just come inside me, Yeol. Like the good old times.”

Both were getting lightheaded and their rhythm was faltering. That’s when Chanyeol decided to gather the last of the strength left in him to lean up and pull Baekhyun closer. Baekhyun didn’t hesitate to lock their lips together again in a messy kiss that kept getting interrupted by breathy moans and curses.

“Chanyeol, so good!”

“I’m coming, baby.”

“Please, Chanyeol.”

With that Baekhyun started to plead for Chanyeol’s release and soon Chanyeol halted his movements, pulling Baekhyun down and coming inside him, making Baekhyun feel full and warm. Once Chanyeol started to move again to ride out his own orgasm, the thought of his cum moving inside him pushed Baekhyun over the edge as well, as thick strings of cum painted all over Chanyeol’s abs.

It took a few more seconds for them to ride out the high but once it was gone, Baekhyun couldn’t stop smiling, finally feeling sated and spent. Without even asking Chanyeol took it as his duty to clean them up. He reached for his own shirt to wipe off himself and Baekhyun before getting to clean up Baekhyun’s fluttering hole, dripping with his own release.

“Are you okay? In pain?”

“Nope, not yet.”

“I don’t see any tears or anything.”

“You’ve always been careful.”

“Do you want me to fetch pyjamas or something?”

“Do you have something against sleeping naked?”

“No.”

“Then nothing.”

Once Chanyeol deemed everything clean, or at least clean enough, he finally got back into bed, pulling Baekhyun closer to spoon him and getting comfortable under a blanket.

“You have no idea how much I missed this, Yeol.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

With that Chanyeol started to shower Baekhyun’s shoulder with kisses again.

“So what are our plans next?”

“Our plans?”

“Yeol, you can’t possibly think I’d agree to let you go again.”

“You won’t?”

“Never.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help but peck Baekhyun’s cute nose as the smaller one had slightly turned around to try and face him.

“So what will we do now? It’s not like I have a plan, Baek.”

“Then how about we join Sehun and Jongin’s plan?”

“You want us to be smugglers?”

“Well, I’ve been one for a while now and it’s actually pretty fun. I think you’d enjoy it.”

“Really?”

“Yup. It’s the perfect mix of adventure and danger with no Force involvement.”

“Oh really?”

“Well, maybe a tiny bit of Force involvement?”

Baekhyun was being way too cute and Chanyeol couldn’t help but keep peppering him with kisses all over his cute little face.

“As long as I get to be with you, I don’t mind. But are you sure your Jedi dreams have ended?”

“Honestly, they ended the same day they took you away from me. Nothing is as valuable as to love and be loved. Nothing is worth more to me than calling you mine, Yeol.”

With that Chanyeol intertwined their fingers, bringing them up to kiss Baekhyun’s hand.

“In that case, I’m all yours.”

These words were enough to make Baekhyun smile again.

“And I’m yours, Yeollie.”

This earned Baekhyun a kiss on the lips.

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

With that the tired couple finally drifted off to sleep. Sure, they had no clue how the imbalance their actions had caused would affect them and everyone else in the Galaxy, but they didn’t really care either. Both of them had chased after the comfort of the Force but it had provided only suffering. Maybe they would eventually find a way to bring peace to the Galaxy, maybe not. But either way they were at peace now in each other’s arms. Just where they had been meant to be all along.


End file.
